Efficient Analytical Estimation of Mutual Coupling in Murchison Widefield Array Antennas

Paper in proceeding, 2026

Mutual coupling between antenna elements can significantly affect array performance, yet full-wave simulations of large-scale phased arrays of hundreds of elements are computationally expensive. This work aims to verify that recently proposed analytical methods to estimate mutual coupling between antenna elements can be used to predict the coupling coefficients in phased array antennas even in the presence of infinite ground planes. We estimated mutual coupling between the arrays of halfwavelength dipoles and the Murchison Widefield Array dipoles using the plane-wave approximation and a modified pattern overlap integral. Our approach predicts the coupling directly from the complex electric field of an isolated element, avoiding the need for embedded element pattern simulations. The analytical results have an excellent agree with FEKO-MoM simulations for both half-wave and MWA bow-tie dipoles, in free space and above an infinite ground plane, while significantly reducing computational cost.