Modeling Antennas on Complex Platforms through Equivalent Aperture Current Distributions

Accurate in situ antenna manifolds are desired for the exact performance evaluation of radio frequency systems. In situ antenna measurements are the most accurate way to obtain antenna manifolds on the platform of interest, but are often impractical or impossible to obtain. Instead, combinations of simulations and measurements are used to estimate antenna manifolds on platforms. The antenna under test is measured on a ground plane, and measured data is imported into numerical EM codes to include platform scattering. However, the import of the measured antenna data has limited accuracy and/or can lead to large run time in numerical EM codes. 

This seminar presents a new method to represent measured antennas in EM codes through an aperture current distribution of cross-slots and monopoles. The method is first illustrated through simulations, where good agreement is achieved between the truth data and equivalent antennas on complex platforms. Then, the method is applied to truth data obtained through measurements at the ESL's anechoic chamber, where truth data and the equivalent antennas maintain good agreement.

Leo Tchorowski received his B.S.  Electrical and Computer Engineering with honors from Lafayette College in 2014. Since 2016, Leo has been working on an MIT Lincoln Laboratory project to study the representation of measured antennas on complex platforms.  In 2016, he was awarded the 7th annual CERF Meeting "Best Poster Award" for his poster on "Situational Awareness Using GNSS Adaptive Antennas". In 2017, he was awarded the iREDEFINE Professional Development Award.  He is currently pursuing his PhD degree at Ohio State’s ElectroScience Laboratory under the supervision of Professor Inder J. Gupta. His primary research area is in modeling antennas on complex platforms.