Antenna Arrays: A Computational Approach

5 Nonplanar Arrays

Array elements usually lie in a plane, because the feed network for nonplanar array is more complicated. In addition, placing array elements on a curved surface complicates design, construction, and testing. A nonplanar array, like the one in Figure 5.1, with elements distributed in three-dimensional space has an array factor given by

where

u = sinθ cos

u_s = sinθ_s cos_s

v = sinθ sin

v_s = sinθ_s sin_s

u² + v² = sin²θ(sin² + cos²) ≤ 1

θ_s = elevation steering angle

_s = azimuth steering angle

A conformal array has the (x_n, y_n, z_n) lying on a curved surface. The maximum gain of a ...