Mutual coupling between microstrip antennas on an elliptic cylinder

The finite element-boundary integral (FE-BI) method has been used in the past to characterize conformal antennas recessed in plane and circular cylinder surfaces. This method has also been extended for use in elliptic cylinder and prolate spheroid surfaces. Typically, the input, or driving point, impedance and radiation pattern have been quantities of particular interest. However, the mutual coupling between conformal antennas is also of interest for the design community. In this paper, the mutual impedance formulation and example results for microstrip patch antennas recessed in an elliptic cylinder are presented. In particular, validations with planar results in the limit of an electrically large cylinder are provided.