Design of subarrayed linear and planar array antennas with SLL control based on an excitation matching approach

In this paper, the synthesis of subarrayed antennas with subarrays having different weights and dimensions is considered. The problem is formulated as the definition of the element clustering into spatially contiguous subarrays and the corresponding weights to obtain a pattern with the lowest (i.e., minimum achievable) sidelobe level (SLL). The problem is addressed with an unconstrained approach based on an excitation matching method where the synthesis of subarray weights and sizes is simultaneously carried out. Successively, a hybrid version of such an approach is proposed to directly enforce into the optimization procedure the SLL constraints. A set of representative results concerned with both sum and difference patterns are shown. Furthermore, some comparisons with state-of-the-art hybrid evolutionary-based techniques are reported, as well.