Research Projects

Antenna research focuses on developing high-gain, low-profile antennas that can be easily fitted into surfaces of cars or platforms. Conformal antennas, placed on a body of revolution, can be spherical, cylindrical, conical, or any other shape. Planar antenna arrays cannot cover the entire 360 degree plane for aerodynamic shapes, which are typically nonplanar surfaces. Non-planar convex platforms allow for wider beams and are highly directive due to their natural concave or bent shape. The investigation of conformal antenna systems is crucial, as it requires knowledge of mutual coupling between different antenna elements and the far zone electric fields of individual elements. Higher-order modes are used in modern communication to design more compact antennas at higher frequencies. This project will focus on designing and developing conformal antennas on cylindrical and conical surfaces for defense applications. Different microstrip antennas on the cylindrical surface will be investigated using the "Cavity Model Technique" and the Spectral Domain Method (SDM). Rectangular, circular, and triangular microstrip antennas will also be investigated for different TM_mn modes. Regular polygonal-shaped microstrip antennas will also be investigated. A closed-form solution will be provided to predict resonant frequency, input impedance, far-field patterns, Q-factor, radiation efficiency, and more. Modal charts will be provided for all antennas. The wraparound antenna on a cylindrical surface will also be investigated. Prototypes will be fabricated and tested for experimental validation of the theory.