Effect of Edge Reflections on the Mutual Coupling of a Two-Element Linear Microstrip Patch Antenna Array Positioned Along the E-Plane

Mutual coupling of a two-element linear microstrip patch antenna array positioned along the E-plane including the effect of edge reflections is investigated by the experiment and full-wave simulation. The optimum substrate sizes calculated by the simple formulas using geometrical optics are in good agreement with those obtained by the experiment and full-wave simulation. Experimental results show that the effect of edge reflections on the mutual coupling of microstrip patch antennas is mainly determined by the effective dielectric constant for surface waves on a grounded dielectric substrate.