Innovative Method for Designing Multibeam-on-Receive Scanning Arrays with Optimized Sub-array Configuration and Analytic Phase Synthesis

A novel design methodology for multibeam-on-receive scanning arrays is here presented. A hybrid analog/digital beam-forming network and a clustered architecture are considered. The proposed methodology aims at optimize the clustering configuration in order to guarantee the lowest possible side lobe level when steering the beams within a given scanning range, and operating within a given bandwidth. A novel analytic phase synthesis method allows the efficient computation of optimal sub-array phases for pointing the beams towards desired directions. Moreover, a global optimizer is used for the clustering configuration optimization. Finally, a numerical example has been reported to validate the proposed approach.