A subarray dilation method for computing scattering and radiation from large slot arrays

A procedure has been developed for computing the radiated and scattered fields from a large conformal array of slots including mutual coupling effects without having to solve a large matrix equation. The proposed approach begins with the radiated or scattered fields as calculated by the method of moments from individual slot elements in a subarray. The subarray lattice is identical to the larger array and both of their borders are isomorphic to the lattice. To compute the fields of the larger array, a mapping procedure is invoked whereby the fields of each element in the large array are obtained from a dilated element in the subarray. This is equivalent to the assumption that the active impedance seen by the elements in the subarray environment is the same for slots in the large array environment. Results of the dilation method compare well with those obtained by the method of moments, and can be calculated significantly faster.<>