Real array pattern tolerances from amplitude excitation errors

The impact on the nominal power pattern of random and not a-priori known errors affecting the excitation amplitudes of real linear arrays is analyzed by means of an analytic approach based on the interval analysis math. Starting from the expressions of the pattern bounds as a function of the excitation tolerances modeling the saturation in the amplifiers of the array feeding network, the effects on the radiation characteristics and the pattern descriptors are evaluated.