A Radiation Based Model for the Mutual Coupling Between Rectangular Microstrip Antennas

The results of a theoretical and experimental investigation into the mutual coupling effects between neighbouring rectangular microstrip patch antennas are presented. Proposed here is a novel model for the mutual coupling that is based on the power transfer that occurs when the far field radiation pattern of a transmitting aperture illuminates a receiving aperture. The results of this model are tested at both 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz, and for separations greater than 0.75 ¿0, the coupling results agree with measurements to within 3 dB for both the E- and H-plane coupling cases. The accuracy of this simple model is similar to that of the models found in the literature, however the latter are much more complex and only tested against measurements at much lower frequencies.