Omni-directional microstrip antenna on a near spherical surface

Summary form only given, as follows. Analysis and design for an omni-directional integrated circularly polarized microstrip array antenna system on a near spherical surface are presented. The analysis is based on the solution of a circular microstrip patch antenna problem, arbitrarily located on a spherical surface. Spherical waveguide modes are utilized to represent the fields in the various spherical regions. Considering the circular patch at the zenith as the reference element, relative amplitudes, phases and the positions of other N elements are taken as variable parameters to design the omni-directional antenna. A computer program has been created that will vectorially add the far field contributions of all the antenna elements and provide a starting design. Both experimental and computational means are then utilized to iterate the design towards perfection.