Uniform Concentric Circular Arrays With Frequency-Invariant Characteristics—Theory, Design, Adaptive Beamforming and DOA Estimation

This paper proposes a new digital beamformer for uniform concentric circular arrays (UCCAs) having nearly frequency-invariant (FI) characteristics. The basic principle is to transform the received signals to the phase mode and remove the frequency dependency of the individual phase mode through the use of a digital beamforming or compensation network. As a result, the far-field pattern of the array, which is governed by a set of variable beamformer weights, is electronically steerable, and it is approximately invariant over a wider range of frequencies than conventional uniform circular arrays (UCAs). This also makes it possible to design the compensation network and the beamformer weights separately. The design of the compensation network is formulated as a second order cone programming (SOCP) problem and is solved optimally for minimax criterion. By employing the beamspace approach using the outputs of a set of fixed UCCA frequency-invariant beamformers (FIBs), a new beamspace MUSIC algorithm is proposed for estimating the direction-of-arrivals (DOAs) of broadband sources. Since the beampatterns of the UCCA-FIB is approximately invariant with frequency and is governed by a small set of weights, a very efficient adaptive beamformer using the minimum variance beamforming (MVB) approach can be developed. Simulation results using broadband Gaussian and multisinusoidal inputs show that the proposed adaptive UCCA-FIB is numerically better conditioned than the conventional broadband tapped-delay-line-based adaptive beamformers, due to the FI property and significantly fewer numbers of adaptive parameters. Consequently, a higher output signal-to-inference-plus-noise ratio over the conventional tapped-delay-line approach is observed. The usefulness of the proposed UCCA-FIB in broadband DOA estimation is also verified by computer simulation     

Adaptive Beamforming and DOA Estimation Using Uniform Concentric Spherical Arrays with Frequency Invariant Characteristics

This paper proposes a new digital beamformer for uniform concentric spherical array (UCSA) having nearly frequency invariant (FI) characteristics. The basic principle is to transform the received signals to the phase mode and remove the frequency dependency of the individual phase mode through the use of a digital beamforming network. It is shown that the far field pattern of the array is determined by a set of weights and it is approximately invariant over a wide range of frequencies. FI UCSAs are electronic steerable in both the azimuth and elevation angles, unlike their concentric circular array counterpart. The frequency invariant characteristic of the FI UCSA also makes it possible to design separately the compensation network and beamformer weighting coefficients. The design of the compensation network is formulated as a second order cone programming (SOCP) problem and is solved optimally for minimax criterion. Thanks to the frequency invariant characteristic, traditional narrow band adaptive beamforming algorithms such as minimum variance beamforming (MVB) can be applied to the FI UCSA. Also, traditional narrow band 2-D direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms such as unitary ESPRIT can be extended to broadband DOA estimation using FI UCSA. Simulation results show that the proposed adaptive beamformer using FI UCSA can obtain a higher output signal to inference plus noise ratio over the conventional tapped-delay line approach. Simulation results also show that FI UCSA has uniform beampattern and resolution around 360° in both azimuth and elevation angles, unlike FI uniform concentric circular array. The usefulness of the proposed UCSA-FIB in broadband 2-D DOA estimation is also verified by computer simulation.

Adaptive Beamforming and Recursive DOA Estimation Using Frequency-Invariant Uniform Concentric Spherical Arrays

This paper proposes recursive adaptive beamforming and broadband 2-D direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms for uniform concentric spherical arrays (UCSAs) having nearly frequency-invariant (FI) characteristics. The basic principle of the FI-UCSA is to transform the received signals to the phase mode and remove the frequency dependency of individual phase modes through a digital beamforming network. Hence, the far-field pattern of the array is determined by a set of weights. Thanks to the FI characteristic, traditional narrowband adaptive beamforming algorithms such as minimum variance beamforming and the generalized sidelobe canceller method can be applied to the FI-UCSA. Simulation results show that the proposed adaptive FI-UCSA beamformer achieves a lower steady-state error and converges faster than the conventional tapped-delay line approach while requiring fewer adaptive coefficients. A new broadband 2-D DOA estimation algorithm using ESPRIT techniques for FI-UCSA is proposed to recursively estimate the DOAs of the moving targets. Simulation results show that the proposed DOA estimation algorithm achieves a satisfactory performance for slowly varying sources at low arithmetic complexity.      

基于均匀同心圆阵列的近场宽带波束形成

该文提出了一种频率不变近场宽带波束形成的方法。该方法将均匀同心圆阵列的输出经傅里叶逆变换转换成相位模式信号,并经过近场矫正和频率补偿网络,可达到频率响应不变的远场阵列响应效果。在此基础上,该文将传统远场窄带波束形成法推广到近场宽带阵列中。仿真结果表明,该文提出的近场宽带阵列响应具有近似频率响应不变的效果,其波束图也接近远场窄带阵列波束图。另外,与其他几种波束形成方法相比,基于该文提出的频率不变近场宽带阵列提升了波束形成性能,且具有较低的计算复杂度。     

Array beamforming in the presence of a mounting tower using genetic algorithms

A beamforming method based on genetic algorithms (GAs) is proposed for antenna arrays in the presence of strong platform effects. A GA is used to maximize the mainbeam radiation and minimize sidelobe levels based on the active element patterns of the array. Simulation results show that the array excitations optimized by the GA can achieve superior beamforming performance than those from array theory or phase conjugation. Experimental results collected from a seven-element circular array further demonstrate the beamforming and direction finding performance of the GA based beamformer. In addition, an array element position optimization is carried out. Simulation results show further improvement in the beamforming performance.     

Simplified Sidelobe Reduction Techniques for Concentric Ring Arrays

In this paper, a simplified sidelobe reduction technique for uniform concentric circular antenna arrays (UCCA) is proposed. This technique is based on modifying some conventional windows to control the amplitude feeding instead of using adaptive techniques which require excessive processing and calculations and suffer from the lack of practical application especially for UCCA. The modified windows are applied to individual rings of the array that will taper the corresponding current amplitudes. The resulted sidelobe level, beamwidth and stability for amplitude errors are discussed for the different proposed windows where it shows a sidelobe reduction to about 49 dB as in the case of Binomial UCCA while the Hamming window shows the most immunity to tapered amplitude errors.     

时域矢量阵宽带恒定束宽波束的形成方法研究

对于海底探测和分类问题的声呐系统来说,一般要求声呐系统具备在较宽频带内形成恒定束宽波束的能力。随着对矢量水听器认识的深入,开展基于矢量阵的恒定束宽波束形成器的研究越发变得必要。介绍了在时域矢量阵宽带恒定束宽波束形成的实现原理和设计方法,并以均匀等间距线阵为例,给出了时域恒定束宽算法的实现流程。通过计算机仿真,可以看到基于矢量阵得到的恒定束宽波束要比常规阵得到的恒定束宽波束性能好得多。系统的可行性得到验证。     

An approach for low sidelobe beamforming in uniform concentric circular arrays

In this paper, a new tapered beamforming function for sidelobe reduction in the uniform concentric circular arrays (UCCA) is proposed. This technique is based on tapering the current amplitudes of the rings in the array, where all elements in an individual ring are weighted in amplitude by the same value and the weight values of different rings are determined by a function that has a normalized-gaussian probability density function variation. This novel tapering window is optimized in its parameters to have the lowest possible sidelobe level that may reach 43 dB below the main lobe and these optimum weights are found to be function of the number of elements of the innermost ring and the number of rings in the array. The proposed tapering window can be modified to compensate the gain reduction due to tapering when compared with the uniform feeding case.     

Tapered beamforming for concentric ring arrays

In this paper, some conventional filtering windows are modified and applied to uniform concentric circular antenna arrays (UCCA) for spatial smoothing and sidelobe reduction. The modified windows are applied to individual rings of the array that will taper the corresponding current amplitudes. The resulted sidelobe level, beamwidth and stability for amplitude errors are discussed for the different proposed tapering windows where it shows a sidelobe reduction to about 49 dB as in the case of Binomial UCCA while the Hamming window shows the most immunity to tapered amplitude errors.     

Joint optimal power control and beamforming in wireless networksusing antenna arrays

The interference reduction capability of antenna arrays and the power control algorithms have been considered separately as means to increase the capacity in wireless communication networks. The minimum variance distortionless response beamformer maximizes the signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) when it is employed in the receiver of a wireless link. In a system with omnidirectional antennas, power control algorithms are used to maximize the SINR as well. We consider a system with beamforming capabilities in the receiver, and power control. An iterative algorithm is proposed to jointly update the transmission powers and the beamformer weights so that it converges to the jointly optimal beamforming and transmission power vector. The algorithm is distributed and uses only local interference measurements. In an uplink transmission scenario, it is shown how base assignment can be incorporated in addition to beamforming and power control, such that a globally optimum solution is obtained. The network capacity and the saving in mobile power are evaluated through numerical study     

Design and Analysis of Broadband Beamspace Adaptive Arrays

A beamspace adaptive planar array for broadband beamforming is proposed based on the frequency invariant beamforming technique. A detailed analysis is provided for both the linear arrays and the planar arrays, where two conditions are imposed: the beams should exhibit a good frequency invariant property and be linearly independent. These two conditions are not independent and there is a tradeoff between them. To improve the interference cancellation capability of the array, we may need to sacrifice the frequency invariant property to some degree for more linearly independent beams. A sufficient condition for the linear independence of the beams is derived with a DFT matrix based design proposed. Simulation results verified our analysis and the proposed method.     

MIMO雷达稳健的发射波束形成算法

针对发射导向矢量存在未知误差的问题,该文提出了一种MIMO雷达稳健的发射波束形成算法(Robust Transmitting Beamforming, RTB)。该算法在稳健的接收波束形成算法的基础上,以最大化最差情况输出信干噪比为优化准则,对发射导向矢量误差做稳健的发射波束形成。RTB算法属于对角加载方法。仿真结果表明,相比于已有算法,RTB算法的稳健性更好、计算复杂度更低、收敛速度更快。     

Robust Adaptive Beamforming Under Quadratic Constraint with Recursive Method Implementation

When adaptive arrays are applied to practical problems, the performances of the conventional adaptive beamforming algorithms are known to degrade substantially in the presence of even slight mismatches between the actual and presumed array responses to the desired signal. Similar types of performance degradation can occur because of data nonstationarity and small training sample size, when the signal steering vector is known exactly. In this paper, to account for mismatches, we propose robust adaptive beamforming algorithm for implementing a quadratic inequality constraint with recursive method updating, which is based on explicit modeling of uncertainties in the desired signal array response and data covariance matrix. We show that the proposed algorithm belongs to the class of diagonal loading approaches, but diagonal loading terms can be precisely calculated based on the given level of uncertainties in the signal array response and data covariance matrix. The variable diagonal loading term is added at each recursive step, which leads to a simpler closed-form algorithm. Our proposed robust recursive algorithm improves the overall robustness against the signal steering vector mismatches and small training sample size, enhances the array system performance under random perturbations in sensor parameters and makes the mean output array SINR consistently close to the optimal one. Moreover, the proposed robust adaptive beamforming can be efficiently computed at a low complexity cost compared with the conventional adaptive beamforming algorithms. Computer simulation results demonstrate excellent performance of our proposed algorithm as compared with the existing adaptive beamforming algorithms.     

An on-line adaptive beamforming capability for HF backscatter radar

An adaptive-array beamforming capability has been implemented on-line in an existing over-the-horizon (OTH) backscatter radar. Inputs to the beamformer consisted of signals from eight 32- element subarrays of the 256-element, 2.5-km-long receiving array at the Wide Aperture Research Facility (WARF) located in California. Both conventional and adaptive beamforming were performed prior to the usual range/Doppler analysis used to extract radar targets from noise and clutter. The GriffithsP-vector algorithm, a recursive, time-domain adaptive technique, was implemented in all-digital fashion using fixed-point arithmetic on a 16-bit minicomputer. Desired signals utilized were aircraft targets and a fixed, ground-based radar repeater simulating a moving target, while unwanted signals were other-user interference and signals from a separate ground-based radar repeater. It was found that adaptive rejection of unwanted signals was dependent on pointing-angle alignment and that rejection was often increased by removal of the clutter by moving target indicator (MTI) filtering prior to adaptation. For some conditions, Doppler broadening can he produced by the time modulation imposed by continuous adaptation, unwanted-signal rejection with the adaptive beamformer is variable, but side-by-side comparisons obtained at WARF show that adaptive beamforming can reject off-azimuth signals up to 20 dB better than conventional beamforming with a -25 dB Dolph taper.     

Reverse Link Performance of DS-CDMA Cellular Systems through Closed-Loop Power Control, Base Station Assignment, and Antenna Arrays in 2D Urban Environment

The interference reduction capability of antenna arrays, base station assignment, and the power control algorithms have been considered separately as means to increase the capacity in wireless communication networks. In this paper, we propose smart step closed-loop power control (SSPC) algorithm and base station assignment method based on minimizing the transmitter power (BSA-MTP) technique for direct sequence-code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) receiver in a 2D urban environment. This receiver consists of conjugate gradient adaptive beamforming and matched filter in two stages using antenna arrays. In addition, we study an analytical approach for the evaluation of the impact of power control error (PCE) on the DS-CDMA cellular systems. The simulation results indicate that the SSPC algorithm and the BSA-MTP technique can significantly improve the network bit error rate in comparison with conventional methods. Our proposed methods can also significantly save total transmit power and extend battery life in mobile units. In addition, we show that the convergence speed of the SSPC algorithm is faster than that of conventional algorithms. Finally, we discuss two parameters of PCE and channel propagation conditions (path-loss parameter and variance of shadowing) and their effects on the capacity of the system via some computer simulations.     

Performance of Smart Antenna Under Different Fading Conditions

Optimizing the current distribution of an evenly spaced antenna array has shown to be an efficient approach for reducing side lobe levels. In this article, the Tchebyscheff distribution-based antenna array synthesis approach is combined with an adaptive signal processing algorithm for beamforming and side lobe level reduction in smart antennas in various fading situations. The performance of smart antennas in uniformly spaced linear, planar, circular, and semi-circular arrays are evaluated. The presence of Rayleigh and Rician channels is examined in the network. The least mean square (LMS) and normalised least mean square (NLMS) algorithms are applied as adaptive algorithms. In fading environments, the NLMS algorithm with Tchebyscheff distribution outperforms than the LMS algorithm with Tchebyscheff distribution, with a side lobe level decrease of 11.23 dB. The lowest side lobe achieved with the NLMS algorithm with Tchebyscheff distribution is???45.59 dB for uniform planar array.

     

Broadband Frequency Invariant Beamformer

In the broadband signal processing, the array has different relative aperture for the different frequency bins, which results in waveform distortion. Moreover, the greater the bandwidth is, the more serious the distortion becomes. It is valuable to study the Frequency-invariant beam patterns (FIBPs) for receiving broadband signals without distortion. Based on the array dimensions, this paper will summarize some new methods to design a broadband beamformer with an FIBP. There will be two categories: One-dimensional arrays and Multi-dimensional arrays. For one-dimensional array, there are sampling rate method, minimax frequency invariant beamforming, etc. For multi-dimensional array, there are Bessel function method, Bessel function and phase mode method, and so on. Finally, we will discuss the pros and cons of every method.     

Robust adaptive beamforming based on the eigenstructure method

In a linearly constrained beamformer with imperfect arrays, the authors investigate the cause of cancelling the desired signal from a viewpoint based on the eigenstructure properties of the array covariance matrix. Based on this cause, they propose a robust beamforming algorithm. As an adaptive algorithm of the proposed beamformer, the present a data-domain signal subspace updating algorithm     

Robust ML wideband beamformingin reverberant fields

Adaptive beamforming of sensor arrays immersed into reverberant fields can easily result in the cancellation of the useful signal because of the temporal correlation existing among the direct and the reflected path signals. Wideband beamforming can somewhat mitigate this phenomenon, but adaptive solutions based on the minimum variance (MV) criterion remain nonrobust in many practical applications, such as multimedia systems, underwater acoustics, and seismic prospecting. In this paper, a steered wideband adaptive beamformer, optimized by a novel concentrated maximum likelihood (ML) criterion in the frequency domain, is presented and discussed in the light of a very general reverberation model. It is shown that ML beamforming can alleviate the typical cancellation problems encountered by adaptive MV beamforming and preserve the intelligibility of a wideband and colored source signal under interference, reverberation, and propagation mismatches. The difficult optimization of the ML cost function, which incorporates a robustness constraint to prevent signal cancellation, is recast as an iterative least squares problem through the concept of descent in the neuron space, which was originally developed for the training of multilayer neural networks. Finally, experiments with computer-generated and real-world data demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed beamformer with respect to its MV counterpart.     

A high-speed adaptive antenna array with simultaneous multibeam-forming capability

A new type of adaptive beamforming antenna system architecture is proposed for multichannel wireless communications. Multibeam communication with high data throughput is accomplished using the proposed beamformer architecture. The system consists of analog mixers, a multitone direct digital synthesizer (DDS), and a digital signal processor (DSP) controller. The essential idea of multibeam forming is based on a multitone weighting scheme combined with analog-digital hybrid signal processing. While the real-time multibeam construction is realized by the analog mixer circuits and a DDS, the complicated adaptive beamforming and direction-of-arrival estimation algorithms are carried out by the DSP. In this architecture, only one beamformer circuit is required to handle multiple beams, leading to significant reduction in hardware counts. A 5.8-GHz eight-element adaptive beamforming array successfully demonstrates two-beam simultaneous beamforming with less than three degrees of peak and steering errors and more than 20-dB interference suppression. The test-bed exhibits successful two-channel data recovery at 25-Mb/s data throughput in each channel with binary phase-shift keying modulation, for simultaneous dual-beam reception. The bit-error-rate measurement validates the robustness of the communication quality under strong interferences.