Measurement and Explanation of DC/RF Power Loci of an Active Patch Antenna

A case study of an active transmitting patch antenna revealed a characteristic loop locus of DC power versus RF output power as drive frequency was varied, with an operational bandwidth substantially smaller than the impedance bandwidth of the radiator. An approximate simulation technique, based on separation of the output capacitance of the power transistor, yielded easily visualized plots of power dependence on internal load impedance, and a simple interpretation of the experimental results in terms of a near‐resonance condition between the output capacitance and output packaging inductance.