Phased Array Design Toolbox v2.4

A toolbox allowing rapid definition and evaluation of 2D and 3D phased array antennas.

Description

This is the abstract from my paper, included as documentation, in the zip file.

Paper Titled : Phased Array Design Toolbox for MATLAB Theory of Operation

ABSTRACT
In recent years the advances in computer technology has led to increasing use of numerical techniques in the design and development of antennas and related technology. Of particular prevalence are full wave microwave solvers, used to obtain the current densities on and thereby radiated fields for arbitrary structures. However, despite the increases in computer power, array antennas can be electrically very large and therefore still represent a significant analysis problem. As the number of elements in the antenna array increases, its radiated characteristics tend to be dominated by the geometric layout and excitation of the component elements, rather than the elements themselves.
Using simple mathematical models for the element radiation patterns, combined geometrically in the far field, the performance of large arrays can be calculated with reasonable accuracy for significantly less computational effort. A Matlab toolbox has been developed to enable rapid definition and analysis of 2D and 3D antenna arrays, comprising array elements such as dipole, microstrip patch, helix or any user defined element pattern function. This paper documents the theory used in the toolbox.

• Acknowledgements: This submission has inspired the following:; 3D spherical equation plot
• MATLAB release: MATLAB 5.2 (R10)

[Diego Orlando]

 

[Tomas]

HELP, I really dont know, how to start?

[Neill Tucker]

Dear Tomas,
What is it you are you are trying to do with the Toolbox?
I may be able to help.
Kind Regards,

Neill
P.S. I have put a document 'Introduction to Phased Array Design'
on my website, this may be of interest see link below
http://www.activefrance.com/Antennas/page23.html

[Rebecca Asher]

 

[Mike]

Seems pretty cool. Cool website too.

[Shoaib Amin]

Dear Neill
I am not able to work with the tool box kindly help me out

Regards
Shoaib

[Neill Tucker]

Dear Shoaib,

No problem, could you be a bit more specific as to the problem?
If it requires a lot of explaining it might be easier via e-mail

Kind regards,

Neill

[Shoaib Amin]

Dear Neill

when i run any example like Ex1 im getting the following error
??? Undefined function or method 'design_patchr' for input arguments of type 'double'.

Error in ==> Ex1 at 21
patchr_config=design_patchr(3.43,1.6e-3,freq_config);

in every example and for validation it gives the same error unidentified function or method of input arguments... though i m trying my level best but can't solve thing problem

regards
shoaib

[Neill Tucker]

Dear Shoaib,

My first question would be to other users : Has anyone else found this problem and the solution to it?

 I'm assuming it is not a common problem or the comments list would probably be longer. The only things I can think of are :

Are the MATLAB paths set to all the relevant ArrayCalc sub-directories? Listed in readme.txt in the download.

If you type "help design_patchr" for example does the relevant help file come up? i.e. can MATLAB find the functions.

If these are OK, what version of MATLAB are you running and on what platform?

Sorry not to be of more help at the moment.

Kind Regards,

Neill

[Shoaib Amin]

Dear Neill

thank for ur help , i think i haven;t set all the path to the directory n thank for the help if i faced a problem i'll contact u again

Regards
Shoaib

[Dan Kong]

Hi everybody! Does anybody know why I can't add this Toolbox to the Toolboxes in my Matlab? I'm using 2007b version and I'm not sure if i'm doing it properly.

[Dan Kong]

I spent three days setting up this toolbox. You should really specify how to install it for the people who do not know how to use matlab.
 
Brief explanation for antenna experts without practice of matlab: After setting a path (File->Set Path), click on Add with Subfolders (not just 'Add Folder'!!!) and then you can play with all examples

[Neill Tucker]

Dear Dan,

Sorry to hear that you have had problems installing the toolbox. The problem as an author is that the exact method of adding paths does appear to vary between Matlab versions.

Thank you for the explanation on the method for 2007b, on my 5.2 version it is necessary to add each folder individually.

Kind Regards,

Neill

[Bill]

Outstanding resource! Very simple to use if documentation is read completely beforehand.

[Sanjay]

Does this toolbox work with matlab version 7

[spandana spandana]

Can you please help me with the design of phased array antenna characteristics?

[spandana spandana]

Dear Neill,
 I am not able to understand as to how to go with the Matlab toolbox.I need to design the radiation pattern and other characteristics of microstrip rectangular patch antenna using matlab coding. please help me out in this regard.
regards
Spandana

[Neill Tucker]

Dear Spandana,

If the toolbox has installed successfully you should be able to run the examples (type 'exlist' to list them all). The example ex1 is for a single rectangular microstrip patch. The example produces a nominal patch design for a given frequency and substrate definition and then calculates/plots directivity and patterns. A complete description of the mathematical model used can be found in the ArrayCalc10d.pdf document under 'Element Mathematical Models'. I hope this helps, but if not, do drop me an e-mail and I'll do my best to get you up and running.

Kind Regards,

Neill

[Neill Tucker]

Hi there,

Just a quick note for anyone planning to build a Phase Array, but on a tight budget. I have put a design for a "Very Low Cost Electro-mechanical Phase Shifter" on the activefrance.com website. It has been tested up to 3Ghz and uses an R/C servo driven directly from a PC's parallel port. The full report and PC software is available for download. Happy constructing.

Neill

[Neill Tucker]

Hi all,

Anyone using the ModTaylor.m function.

The function is returning dB volts not dB power as advertised, the last line of the function should read : dB_POWER=20.*log10(Lin_Volts) not dB_POWER=10.*log10(Lin_Volts);

The dB returned value is only for information (ref exdist.m) and doesn't affect the pattern calculations. It will be corrected in the next update. Thanks to Piro for spotting this typo error.

Also, if you are running later versions of Matlab and are getting lots of warnings, try the 'warning off' command to reduce screen clutter.

Neill

[hai]

This looks a good start.

1. Any plan to add the calculation of the mutual coupling within the array? Even a simplified calculation can help

2. Is there a way to calculate the dipole array on a finite reflector instead of the infinite ground?

3. Possibility to output the array model to any full-wave analysis software, like HFSS, CST MWStudio?

[Neill Tucker]

Hi there,

All good questions and some have already crossed my mind.

1. Mutual coupling could be added in a very simplified form by suitably modifying the element excitations. Basically take the 'desired excitation' for each element then add vectorially, an attenuated and phase delayed copy of the excitation to each of its surrounding neighbours. The coupling factor between local elements could be obtained from, a full wave solver, measured, or from empirical data.
 
I may try to implement some sort of coupling calculation as a specific example but probably not as universal functionality. For some geometrys there may be some benefit, for others it could be rather misleading.

2. The only way I can think of is to use additional low power array elements located at the ground plane edge to represent the diffracted radiation. Deciding exactly what amplitude and phase they should be is a bit more difficult. Have a look at the 'Introduction to Phased Array Design' section on my website, there is a 4NEC2 model of a 6x1 element array on a finite groundplane. Running the 'Array 6-ele a.nec' in the Intro Files download you can see edge currents on the groundplane (phase and amplitude).

3. It would certainly be nice to be able to generate script files for HFSS and the like. Unfortunately, full-wave solvers like HFSS need a fair bit more information than is inherent in the ArrayCalc array description. I think there is certainly scope for an automated script generator for full-wave solvers, and ArrayCalc could be a 'start'. My feeling is that it would be better to develop a separate toolbox dedicated to the task. The various array-configuration variables could easily be shared since they are already defined as global.

Overall I feel that ArrayCalc does what it does quite well. The risk of trying to extend it into full-wave solver territory is that you end up caught somewhere between the two, adding lots of complexity for possibly limited benefit.

That said, there is definitely a gap to be filled, you may just have found yourself a project :)

Neill

[Neill Tucker]

I found a typo in the plot_geopat3D1 function.

Line 229 is :
set(14,'name',chartname)

Should be : set(fignum,'name',chartname)

Sorry about that,

Neill

[Binkai]

Hi all,

I am a starter for Phased array calculation, having this toolbox is much convenient and useful for my study.

Recently, I want to import a NEC output pattern for the calculation and I tried the example named 'Ex3b.m' in the 'Examples' folder. And I found it will raise a error while executing the statements as:

place_element(1,0,0,0,0,0,0,'interp',0,0); yrot_array(35,1,1); calc_directivity(10,10);

Then error message from Matlab commander as follows:
Calculating Directivity : d(Th)=10.00 d(Phi)=10.00
| |
...??? Error using ==> interp at 37
Input parameters are out of range.

Error in ==> SUMCODE at 33
   case 11,[EleAmp,CPflag]=interp(thloc,philoc);

Error in ==> fieldsum at 100
  [EleAmp,CPflag]=sumcode(eltype,thloc,philoc); % Sumcode calls the relevant
  element model 'eltype'

Error in ==> calc_directivity at 67
  Emultiple=fieldsum(range_config,theta,phi); % E(theta,phi)

Error in ==> Test_Ex3b at 1339
calc_directivity(10,10); % Calc directivity using 10deg
theta and phi steps

------------------------------------

If I changed 'interp' to 'user1' or 'patchr' something in function 'place element', the program running successfully without errors.
Therefore, I doubted that there are some mistakes using "interp" function when calculating the directivity. My matlab version is Matlab r2009a (V7.8). Could you comment it and give me some advices about how to solve the problem?

Thank you so much for your kindest attention and help.

Regards,
Binkai

[Neill Tucker]

Hello Binkai,

I just found your question.
Is the problem with the original Ex3b file or is it modified in any way?

Is it possible to e-mail me the file that you are trying to run and i will have a look on my machine?

Kind regards,

Neill

[e-mail]

[Farah]

Hi,

Thank you for this great toolbox Neill.

I am trying to model the phased array using some of sub arrays. I tried to us the Ex3b file as an example and i also face the same problem as the user above (Binkai). Could you help explain what should be done in order to rectify the situation above?

Best,
Farah

[Neill Tucker]

Thank you Binkai and Farah for your kind comments.

After some non-forum correspondence it looks like the problem maybe due to a duplication of the interp.m function.

The interp.m function exists in the Mathworks Signal Processing Toolbox, included as standard on later versions of Matlab.

This problem should be corrected by re-naming ArrayCalc's interp.m function as interp1.m (element_models directory). Also by changing the reference to interp in SUMCODE.m LINE 33 to interp1 (element_indexing directory).

If this proves to be the solution I will upload the modifications.

Neill

[Neill Tucker]

Ooops, interp1.m is already used in Matlab's polyfun m-files. For interp1.m read interpL.m in the last comment.

Neill

[Sam Hamie]

hello
I'm trying to run the rect-array file and I'm unable to! I set the path of the folder and I'm getting the following error :
"Error in ==> rect_array at 67 if array_config(1,1,1)==-1 % If there are no existing elements"

I'm not sure how to solve this problem! I tried to run this and I got another problem!

Please advice,
Thanks
Sam

[Neill Tucker]

Dear Sam,

It looks like you might have run the rect_array.m file without running init.m first. Rect_array.m fills the array_config matrix and this is initialised in init.m. Check out the example ex2a for a typical application.

Hope this helps,

Neill

[Neill Tucker]

For anyone interested in comparisons with practical measurements, this page maybe of interest.
http://www.activefrance.com/Antennas/page27.html

Neill

[Chandrakumar]

dear neil, am a student from the university of mauritius am am doing a project on EMF safety . my project consist of simulatinf a base station putting all the building around the base station and applying ray tracing method to calculate where the field could be higher than the level allowed by standard..i dont know how to start,can you please help me about how to proceed to input the environment, the antenna characteristic and how to apply ray tracing method in matlab..
i shall be highly obliged to you if you can help me.. thank you

[Neill Tucker]

Dear Chandra,

I'll e-mail you directly as the answer might be a little long for this forum.

Kind regards,

Neill

[Chandrakumar]

thank you very much neil, i shall be emailing you if am stuck. thanks again

best regards,
chandra

[Chandrakumar]

 

[Changshun Deng]

A nice array design tool, but it is a little hard to use.

[Paul]

Hello,

Although I have been using arrays for a long time, I have not had to design one until now. However, I want to design an acoustic array, not one for radio, and I need to look at the receiver pattern, not the transmission pattern. What do I need to change in order to do this?
Thanks!

[Neill Tucker]

Hi Paul,

Sorry I haven't got back to you sooner, I've e-mailed you directly to clarify exactly what type of acoustic array. Drop me an e-mail if you are still needing the information, I do have some acoustic array examples.

Kind regards,

Neill