An algebraic synthesis method for R(sq N) multibeam matrix network

It is pointed out that multibeam antenna systems are rapidly gaining popularity. This is, in particular, true with respect to satellite and spaceborne applications. The present investigation is concerned with a great simplification of the original mathematical formulations of the R(sq N) feeding matrix provided by McFarland (1978). This simplification represents a contribution to render McFarland's work physically realizable and user oriented. A step-by-step algebraic synthesis procedure is presented to obtain the overall matrix network required to form independent and orthogonal sets of beams to occur in real space. An illustrative design example is provided of a 27 beam matrix (R=3,N=3), including actual test results of the hardware implementation.