Mutual coupling compensation for antenna arrays using the theory of characteristic modes

The mutual coupling effect is one of the most important factors that cannot be neglected in the analysis and synthesis of antenna arrays. In this Letter, a compensation method for the mutual coupling effect is proposed using the theory of characteristic modes, in which the mutual coupling effect is characterised from the perspective of modal coupling between different radiating elements. A compensation matrix is constructed, which makes the modal excitation coefficients of each radiating element in an array environment equal to those obtained without considering the mutual coupling effect. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.