Sensitivity-Based Electromagnetic Performance Calculation Model for Radome-Covered Array Antennas

Abstract

Antenna design and optimization must ensure robust electrical performance, making its analysis a crucial step in all antenna design processes. Traditionally, this analysis involves setting up various cases after establishing the calculation model, comparing the performance of each case, and summarizing the impact of relevant factors to guide design and optimization. However, this method is time-consuming and inefficient. This paper proposes a sensitivity-based approach for analyzing antenna electrical performance, using a radome-covered array antenna as an example. First, we derive the formulas for calculating the antenna’s electrical performance and its sensitivity to the current amplitude, array element position, and radome thickness. We then design comparative experiments to analyze the antenna’s performance using the sensitivity-based method and the traditional case enumeration method. Comparing the conclusions of both methods, we find that they yield the same results regarding antenna performance. The proposed sensitivity-based method offers a quantitative evaluation of various influencing factors and provides a more scientific and systematic approach to analyzing antenna electrical performance.