Effect of optimal current grid approximation on the mass and monostatic radar cross-section of a wire grid parabolic reflector antenna
DOI: 10.21293/1818-0442-2026-29-2-48-56
Abstract: Relevance. Reducing the mass of antennas and their monostatic radar cross-section (MRCS) while preserving the radiation characteristics at a practically acceptable level is a relevant problem in telecommunication and radar systems. To reduce the mass, it is effective to use wire grid (WG) antennas with subsequent sparsification of the grid by optimal current grid approximation (OCGA) based on the method of moments (MoM), in which wires with a normalized current magnitude below a specified grid element elimination tolerance (GEET) are removed. Purpose of the study. Evaluating the effect of OCGA on the MRCS of a sparse antenna. Methods. The study is carried out on a dipole-fed WG parabolic reflector antenna matched over 3.25-3.85 GHz. The simulation is performed in MATLAB. The radiation characteristics are evaluated with the antenna excited by the dipole, while the MRCS under linearly and circularly polarized incident waves is computed by replacing the feed segment with a 50 Ohm resistance included in the MoM impedance matrix. Novelty. The MRCS of a WG parabolic antenna sparsified by OCGA is investigated for the first time. It is shown that OCGA reduces not only the antenna mass but also its MRCS in the main direction, without additional computational cost for accounting for an MRCS reduction criterion and while preserving the radiation characteristics at a practically acceptable level. Results. At GEET = 30, 35, 40%, the mass was reduced by factors of 1.57, 1.65 and 1.73 with acceptable preservation of impedance matching and gain (degradation no more than 0.11 dB) and a stable main lobe width. In addition, over 3-5 GHz band the average MRCS in the main direction decreased by 4.4-4.8 dB (maximum up to 13.9 dB at 3.8 GHz) under linear polarization and by 1.7-2.53 dB (maximum up to 4.6 dB at 4 GHz) under circular polarization. At the same time, the MRCS increased in some near-axis directions ( 0 ≈ ±12° ), since an MRCS reduction criterion is not included in the sparsification process, which indicates a direction for further improvement of the approach. Practical significance. The results show that sparsification reduces the antenna mass and is accompanied by a reduction of the MRCS in the main direction, where the MRCS of the initial structure is maximum, and they open a path to integrating an MRCS reduction criterion into the sparsification process.
Keywords: reflector antenna, wire grid, optimal current grid approximation, method of moments, monostatic radar cross-section, sparse antenna
Funding: This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation project FEWM-2024-0005.
For citation:
Chin S. B., Gazizov T. R. Effect of optimal current grid approximation on the mass and monostatic radar cross-section of a wire grid parabolic reflector antenna. Doklady Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta sistem upravleniya i radioelektroniki, 2026, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 48–56. DOI: 10.21293/1818-0442-2026-29-2-48-56
Authors and copyright holders:
- Chin S. B. , Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics (TUSUR)
- Gazizov T. R. , Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics (TUSUR)
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