Antenna Arrays & Beam Steering in Altair Feko
Altair EmployeeThe creation of antenna arrays in Feko is simple. In addition to the obvious method of manual "Copy & Translate" (where you have to create the ports and suggestions again or create a script using "macro recording"), there is the more elegant method using an Application Macro in CADFEKO:
The required application macro has the meaningful name "Create Antenna Array" and is already included in the installation. There, the user determines the unit cell to be used, the spacing of the array elements and so on:
There is even the option of specifying the excitation of the elements (import from text files is also possible):
If you want to change the angle of the main beam (beam steering) without knowing the required distribution of the phases of the excitations, you can use another script called PHASED_ARRAY_VALUE_GENERATOR_with_GUI.lua.
Simply enter the desired theta and phi angle and the script automatically adjusts the phase of the excitations accordingly.
Here is an example of an 8x8 array at 10 GHz with main lobe in theta 25° and phi 45° direction:
In this video you can see the entire workflow.
The required script is attached.