Planar Thinned Arrays: Optimization and Subarray Based Adaptive Processing

A new approach is presented for the optimized design of a planar thinned array; the proposed strategy works with single antenna elements or with small sets of different subarray types, properly located on a planar surface. The optimization approach is based on the maximization of an objective function accounting for side lobe level and considering a fixed number of active elements/subarrays. The proposed technique is suitable for different shapes of the desired output array, allowing the achievement of the desired directivity properties on the corresponding antenna pattern. The use of subarrays with a limited number of different shapes is relevant for industrial production, which would benefit from reduced design and manufacturing costs. The resulting modularity allows scalable antenna designs for different applications. Moreover, subarrays can be arranged in a set of subapertures, each connected to an independent receiving channel. Therefore, adaptive processing techniques could be applied to cope with and mitigate clutter echoes and external electromagnetic interferences. The performance of adaptive techniques with subapertures taken from the optimized thinned array is evaluated against assigned clutter and jamming scenarios and compared to the performance achievable considering a subarray based filled array with the same number of active elements.