Influence of errors in the dimensions of a switched parasitic array on gain and impedance match

Abstract

The dimensions of an antenna system defines its performance. This implies proper calibration and fabrication process are vital. Thus, there is a need to investigate the influence of the variations in the dimensions of the antenna on its performance. A switched parasitic array antenna is modelled in MATLAB. The variations in the antenna dimensions: length, thickness and spacing of the array elements, are randomly generated based on the Gaussian distribution. The overall influence of these variations on the antenna performance attributes (e.g. gain and impedance match) is estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation. The simulation results demonstrate that the combined effect of all variations in the structural parameters quantify the impact of these variations on the performance of the antenna system, for the given antenna specifications.