Rigorous equivalent circuits for connected arrays and their exploitation in antenna matching characterization

Rigorous equivalent circuits representing the unit cell of a connected array in transmission and reception are derived in this paper. These equivalent networks are not based on reciprocity but on Green’s functions. Thus, all components have well identified and physically meaningful roles. A dual-band connected array demonstrator is then presented to validate the theory. The matching properties of the array are characterized via Radar Cross Section (RCS) measurements without resorting to lossy and expensive feeding networks