RCS of tuned small superconducting loop antennas

The RCS of electrically small loops made from copper and a high temperature superconducting compound YBa₂Cu₃O_x are measured, and compared with computer predictions, to confirm the gain enhancement due to increasing the efficiency of the radiating element alone. The small loop antennas are modelled using a method of moments technique employing piecewise sinusoidal subdomain basis and testing functions spanning two segments. Loss is introduced by modifying the diagonal and off-diagonal elements of the impedance matrix according to the wire conductivity, and tuning is achieved by adding a capacitive reactance to the centre element of the matrix