ALBERT

Description: The phased array has become a key component in the design of advanced antenna systems. This computer program was developed to examine the radiation characteristics of a generalized phased array antenna. Using a very efficient numerical technique, this program calculates the array's radiated power and its directivity. The results can be used to determine the radiation pattern of a generalized phased array at near- or far-field observation points. This program is a key research tool at the NASA Lewis Research Center for analyzing advanced space communication antenna systems. Results from this program compare favorably with experimental Lewis results for arrays of 2x2 and 3x3 elements. Given the array geometry and element characteristics, generalized phased array attributes can be broken into two areas: 1) the power radiated and its directivity at any given point, and 2) the co- and cross-polarization field components. This program allows arbitrarily located source elements with an analytically described cosine pattern. The formulation is based on a Romberg integration scheme and takes into account arbitrary element polarization, E and H plane element patterns, and mutual coupling. The input consists of the array geometry; phase, amplitude, linear and circular polarization of each source element; and the cosine functions of the element pattern. The output is a series of observation angles with their associated field magnitude and polarizations. Total radiated power and peak directivity are also calculated. This program is written in FORTRAN IV for batch execution and has been implemented on an IBM 370 computer operating under TSS with a central memory requirement of approximately 22K of 8 bit bytes. The IBM Scientific Subroutine Package (SSP) is required to run the program. This program was developed in 1986.