Feed Network Design for Passive Beamforming in Hemispherical Phased Arrays

Author

Daniel Flores, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Date of Award

12-1-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering (MSE)

Department

Electrical Engineering

First Advisor

Nantakan Wongkasem

Second Advisor

Yong Zhou

Third Advisor

Alexander Domijan

Abstract

This thesis presents the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a four-element microstrip patch antenna array with a passive 1 to 4 corporate feed network operating at 5 GHz. A single inset-fed patch was developed on Rogers DiClad 880 to ensure accurate tuning and mechanical flexibility, achieving a measured resonance of 5.009 GHz with excellent return loss. The corporate feed network, synthesized using T-junction dividers and quarter-wave transformers, demonstrated strong impedance matching, balanced amplitude distribution, and broadside realized gain near 10 dBi when integrated with the array.

Beam steering was examined through simulation-based phase control, revealing effective scanning up to approximately ±40°, while amplitude tapering showed that a 0.65 taper ratio provided meaningful sidelobe reduction with minimal gain penalty. Bending studies of both individual patches and the full array confirmed predictable resonance shifts and modest pattern degradation under concave and convex curvature, supporting the viability of passive beamforming on thin, conformal substrates intended for hemispherical array applications.

Comments

Copyright 2025 Daniel Flores. All Rights Reserved. https://proquest.com/docview/3302775819

Recommended Citation

Flores, D. (2025). Feed Network Design for Passive Beamforming in Hemispherical Phased Arrays [Master's thesis, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley]. ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/1831