Arbitrary footprint patterns from planar arrays with complexexcitations

Elliott and Stern's (1990) method for synthesising shaped patterns using a circular or elliptical planar aperture or array with a complex excitation distribution is generalised to allow the synthesis of footprints of arbitrary shape. The use of complex excitations allows a given footprint to be synthesised using a smaller array than with real excitations. The procedure is illustrated by synthesising a square footprint using an array with a rectangular grid     

A simple algorithm to achieve desired patterns for arbitrary arrays

A simple iterative algorithm which can be used to find array weights that produce array patterns with a given look direction and an arbitrary sidelobe specification is presented. The method can be applied to nonuniform array geometries in which the individual elements have arbitrary (and differing) radiation patterns. The method is iterative and uses sequential updating to ensure that peak sidelobe levels in the array meet the specification. Computation of each successive pattern is based on the solution of a linearly constrained least-squares problem. The constraints ensure that the magnitude of the sidelobes at the locations of the previous peaks takes on the prespecified values. Phase values for the sidelobes do not change during this process, and problems associated with choosing a specific phase value are therefore avoided. Experimental evidence suggests that the procedure terminates in remarkably few iterations, even for arrays with significant numbers of elements     

一种稀布矩形平面阵的多约束优化方法

针对矩形孔径平面稀布阵的多约束优化问题(包括阵元数、阵列孔径和最小阵元间距约束), 提出了一种基于矩阵映射的差分进化算法.该方法把差分进化算法的优化变量与阵元位置坐标按照特定的关系进行矩阵映射, 使含有多约束的阵元分布优化问题转换为仅含差分进化算法优化变量上、下限约束的优化问题, 从根本上避免了进化过程中的不可行解.通过抑制阵列峰值副瓣电平进行仿真实验, 结果显示了该算法的高效性和稳健性, 且能获得比现有方法更好的优化结果.     

Rapid method for obtaining footprint patterns for very large antenna arrays

A new antenna pattern synthesis technique that allows the design of large planar antenna array radiating footprint patterns of a specified boundary with controlled ripple and sidelobe levels is presented. The method synthesises the desired footprint as a composition of a set of circular Taylor patterns appropriately weighted with the samples of the pattern obtained after stretching or shrinking a continuous circular aperture distribution developed by the Elliott-Stern method. A footprint of continental Europe radiated by a planar array with a large number of elements shows the technique's performance. The synthesis procedures were completed in about 1 s using a desktop computer.     

Phase-only synthesis of minimum peak sidelobe patterns for linearand planar arrays

Minimization of the maximum sidelobe level for a given array geometry by phase-only adjustment of the element excitations is considered. Optimum phases are obtained by using a numerical search procedure to minimize the expression for the pattern sidelobe level with respect to the element phases. Results for both linear and planar arrays of equispaced elements are presented. The data suggests that optimum sidelobe level is a logarithmic function of array size, and optimum patterns have relative efficiencies that are typically somewhat greater than for comparable-amplitude tapered arrays. An analytic synthesis algorithm is presented for use on very large arrays for which the numerical search technique for the minimization of the sidelobe level is computationally impractical. This method produces patterns with characteristics similar to arrays synthesized using the numerical search method, i.e. relatively uniform angular distribution of energy in the sidelobe region, and generally decreasing maximum sidelobe level as the array size is increased     

Closed-form representation for directivity of nonuniformly spacedlinear arrays with arbitrary element patterns

A closed-form expression involving lambda functions is derived for the directivity of nonuniformly spaced symmetrical linear arrays which is valid for a wide variety of commonly used antenna elements. It is shown that this general expression for directivity reduces to the well-known classical result for a uniformly excited broadside array of isotropic sources with elements spaced a half-wavelength apart     

Optimization of planar arrays

A method is developed for maximization of the gain of a planar array at a prescribed sidelobe level. The method is iterative and includes a quadratic programming routine. Numerical examples are given for an octagonal array with a quadratic array lattice and for hexagonal arrays with triangular lattices. The latter arrays are compared to the results obtained by sampling the circular Taylor distribution.     

Design of an efficient miniaturized UHF planar antenna

The design aspects and the measured results of a novel miniaturized planar antenna are described. Such architectural antenna design is of great importance in mobile military communications where low visibility and high mobility are required. Slot radiating elements, having a planar geometry and capable of transmitting vertical polarization when placed nearly horizontal, are appropriate for the applications at hand. Slot antennas also have another useful property, so far as impedance matching is concerned. Basically, slot dipoles can easily be excited by a microstrip line and can be matched to arbitrary line impedances simply by moving the feed point along the slot. Antenna miniaturization can be achieved by using a high permittivity or permeability substrate and superstrate materials and/or using an appropriate antenna topology. We demonstrate miniaturization by designing an appropriate geometry for a resonant narrow slot antenna. A very efficient radiating element that occupies an area as small as 0.12/spl lambda//sub 0//spl times/0.12/spl lambda//sub 0/ is designed and tested. Simulation results, as well as the measured input impedance and radiation patterns of this antenna, are presented. This structure shows a measured gain of 0.5 dBi on FR4 substrate, which has a loss-tangent of the order of 0.01. Also, the effect of finite ground plane size on gain and resonant frequency is investigated experimentally.     

Synthesis of sparse planar arrays

A synthesis method is proposed that is aimed at designing a planar, sparse, and aperiodic array to be used in a beamforming processor. This method minimises the number of elements able to generate a beam pattern that fulfils various a priori fixed constraints. The obtained results are better than those proposed in related literature     

Visualizing the 3D polar power patterns and excitations of planar arrays with Matlab

This paper discusses the use of Matlab to create three-dimensional polar plots of the power patterns of planar arrays together with 3D plots of the amplitudes and phases of their excitations. A few lines of Matlab M-code suffice to create complex plots.     

An efficient recursive procedure for evaluating the impedance matrix of linear and planar fractal arrays

The self-similar geometrical properties of fractal arrays are exploited in this paper to develop fast recursive algorithms for efficient evaluation of the associated impedance matrices as well as driving point impedances. The methodology is demonstrated by considering two types of uniformly excited fractal arrays consisting of side-by-side half-wave dipole antenna elements. These examples include a triadic Cantor linear fractal array and a Sierpinski carpet planar fractal array. This class of self-similar antenna arrays become significantly large at higher order stages of growth and utilization of fractal analysis allows the impedance matrix, and hence the driving point impedances, to be obtained much more efficiently than would be possible using conventional analysis techniques.     

DESIGN OF VIRTUAL UNIFORM LINEAR ARRAYS FOR EFFICIENT DIRECTION FINDING

The problem considered in this paper is to interpolate a virtual uniform array froma real two-dimensional array with arbitrary geometry via an interpolation matrix. The key to thisproblem is how to arrange these virtual sensors. It is shown that the virtual uniform linear arrayshould have the same main-lobe beam-pattern as the real array over an angular sector of interest.Simulation results are presented to illustrate the application of virtual array in direction finding.     

Gain optimization for arbitrary antenna arrays subject to random fluctuations

A general procedure is formulated for the maximization of the expected directive gain for arbitrary antenna arrays whose excitation amplitudes and phases as well as element positions are subject to random errors. Correlations are allowed to exist between the random fluctuations, and the general formulation imposes no restrictions on either the magnitude or the probability distribution of the fluctuations. Numerical examples are given which illustrate the dependence of the expected gain, the main-beam radiation efficiency, the radiation pattern, and the optimum element excitations on the standard deviation and correlation distance of the parameter errors. It is shown that, in typical cases, the properly optimized array yields not only a higher directive gain and a higher mainbeam radiation efficiency but also a better radiation pattern than an array which is "optimized" under the assumption of no random errors.     

Synthesis of satellite footprint patterns from rectangular planar array antenna by using swarm‐based optimization algorithms

A pattern synthesis method based on Firefly Algorithm (FA) and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) optimization has been presented to generate satellite footprint patterns from a rectangular planar array of isotropic antennas by modifying the amplitude, phase, and the state of the array elements. Three cases comprising three different footprints of rectangular, square, and circular boundary are generated from the same array by using two different swarm‐based optimization algorithms FA and ABC. Both the algorithms, following the proposed procedures are able to generate the three different footprint patterns while maintaining a satisfactory lower peak side lobe level and ripple. A comparative analysis has been carried out between FA, ABC, and Genetic Algorithm (GA) for the presented problem in terms of fitness value for the three different cases. The superiority of FA and ABC over GA has been established in terms of finding better solutions for all the three cases of the proposed problem. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance analysis of planar hybrid matrix arrays

An analysis is presented of overall aperture efficiency, weight, and control power requirements for hybrid matrix arrays in synchronous satellite applications. An array is described which is mounted on a 7-foot aperture in a triangular grid fashion and fed by a hybrid matrix consisting of 3-port building blocks which in turn are fed by 9-port matrices. The beam crossover loss is minimized by beam combining at the outputs of the 9 ports. Component losses are analyzed, and residual array gains are calculated for the 7-foot aperture as a function of operating frequency. It is concluded that arrays of this type are practical for net gains of up to 30 dB.     

Evaluation of directivity for planar antenna arrays

In this paper, the directivity, including phase shift factors, for several types of uniformly excited planar arrays is obtained. Four types of dipole arrays are considered: arrays of collinear short dipoles, and of parallel short dipoles; and broadside and end-fire arrays of crosses of short dipoles. Curves of directivity versus inter-element spacing and scan angle for planar arrays with these element power patterns are presented     

Tolerances in self-cohering antenna arrays of arbitrary geometry

In a conventional array, the location of each element must be known to an accuracy of aboutlambda/10for phasing and scanning purposes. A larger tolerance on the element location results in the loss of gain and deterioration of the radiation pattern. In a self-cohering phased array, the phasing of the array elements is accomplished closed-loop and adaptively; therefore, no information on the element location is necessary. On the other hand, to scan the adaptively formed beam about the direction of the received wave, which has to be performed open-loop, one requires information on the element locations. In this paper, basic relations pertaining to the open-loop scanning of adaptive antenna arrays of arbitrary geometry are derived for both far-field and near-field scanning problems, and the transition between the two cases and the required accuracy in the knowledge of the same distance are explored. It is shown that the tolerance requirement on the element locations is the conventional tolerance divided by the maximum scan angle. In large systems designed for target imaging, it is shown that the tolerance on element location can be two or more orders of magnitude larger than that in a conventional array.     

Design of different planar geometries of antenna arrays for isoflux radiation in GEO satellites

The synthesis of different planar geometries of antenna arrays for isoflux radiation is presented in this paper. This synthesis considers the reduction of the side lobe level and the isoflux radiation requirements for Geostationary Earth Orbit satellites. The behavior of the radiation is studied in three geometries of two-dimensional antenna arrays such as uniform planar arrays, aperiodic planar arrays (APA) and concentric ring arrays (CRA). The well-known methods of genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization are utilized for the optimization problem. In this way, the designs of APA and CRA presented in this paper could provide an acceptable solution for reducing the antenna hardware and simplifying the power feeding even more than results presented previously in the literature.     

A diagnostic technique used to obtain cross-range radiation centersfrom antenna patterns

A diagnostic technique for obtaining cross-range radiation centers based on antenna radiation patterns is presented. The method is similar to the synthetic aperture processing of scattered fields normally associated with radar applications; however, in this case it is applied to evaluate antenna radiation pattern performance. Coherence processing of the radiated fields is used to determine the various radiation centers associated with the far-zone pattern of an antenna for a given radiation direction. The technique can be used to identify an unexpected radiation center that creates an undesired effect in a pattern. It can also be used to improve a numerical simulation of the pattern by identifying other significant mechanisms. Cross-range results for two 8-ft-diameter reflector antennas are presented to illustrate as well as validate this technique     

Low-sidelobe patterns from linear and planar arrays with uniformexcitations except for phases of a small number of elements

The use of genetic algorithms allows synthesis of linear and planar arrays with excitations of uniform amplitude that generate radiation patterns with sidelobe levels closely approaching the recognised minima for phase-only control, in spite of only a small number of elements having non-zero phase