Matched asymptotic expansions for the determination of the electromagnetic field near the edge of a patch antenna

We consider a simple but representative model incorporating the main behavior of the electromagnetic field near the edge of a patch antenna. Recall that this kind of antenna is obtained by a metal patch laying on a dielectric substrate covering a ground metallic plane. The functioning principle of such an electric device is based on the matching of an N-dimensional behavior of the field outside the antenna with an (N-1)-dimensional one inside the zone limited by the patch and the ground plane, N = 3 or 2 according to the considered model. In this study, we make use of the technique of matched asymptotic expansions and computation of singularities to describe this behavior for the two-dimensional case. Proved error estimates enable us to give a rigorous background to the underlying asymptotic analysis. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)