Broadband RF Phased Array Design with MEEP: Comparisons to Array Theory in Two and Three Dimensions

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the use of the open-source MEEP software to accurately model and compare phased array antenna designs in 1D and 2D, validating against theoretical expectations and exploring effects of medium variations.

Contribution

It introduces a methodology for using MEEP to simulate phased array antennas and compares results with theoretical models, including effects of varying refractive index.

Findings

MEEP simulations match theoretical radiation patterns across frequencies and angles.

Embedded medium variations significantly affect phased array performance.

Open-source modeling approach reduces reliance on expensive commercial software.

Abstract

Phased array radar systems have a wide variety of applications in engineering and physics research. Phased array design usually requires numerical modeling with expensive commercial computational packages. Using the open-source MIT Electrogmagnetic Equation Propagation (MEEP) package, a set of phased array designs is presented. Specifically, one and two-dimensional arrays of Yagi-Uda and horn antennas were modeled in the bandwidth [0.1 - 5] GHz, and compared to theoretical expectations in the far-field. Precise matches between MEEP simulation and radiation pattern predictions at different frequencies and beam angles are demonstrated. Given that the computations match the theory, the effect of embedding a phased array within a medium of varying index of refraction is then computed. Understanding the effect of varying index on phased arrays is critical for proposed ultra-high energy neutrino observatories which rely on phased array detectors embedded in natural ice. Future work will develop the phased array concepts with parallel MEEP, in order to increase the detail, complexity, and speed of the computations.