Optimal Trade-Off Synthesis for Future Generation Phased Arrays @ ELEDIA Research Center

Antenna arrays are a key technology enabling a huge number of applications in our everyday lives. They are used in communications, radar, navigation, remote sensing, radio-astronomy, and in many other systems. Pushed by the continuous growth of wireless services, antenna arrays have significantly evolved since their introduction. In recent years, modern applications (e.g., 5G, satcoms, autonomous driving) are imposing more and more challenging constraints and requirements on antenna arrays. These include the need for multiple functionalities, large bandwidth, and high reconfigurability. These additional functions add significantly to the cost, the complexity, and the weight of the array, but they cannot be jointly accomplished without a careful consideration of the overall array architecture. Recent advances in the development of high-power amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters, and artificial materials have enabled new array architectures. Indeed, advanced array architectures, including sparsity through thinning or adding some functionalities at the subarray level, can help to incorporate these extra capabilities, albeit with trade-off in terms of gain or aperture efficiency and potentially increased sidelobes as compared to conventional array solutions. This technical report will focus on state-of-the-art and most recent methodologies for the design and synthesis of advanced unconventional arrays, by discussing capabilities, limitations, and perspectives.