Optimization of the beampattern of 2D sparse arrays by weighting

A method is presented which optimizes weights of general planar 1D and 2D symmetric full and sparse arrays. The objective is to find a weighting of the array elements which gives the minimum sidelobe level of the array pattern in a specified region-the stop-band. The sidelobe level is controlled on a discrete set of points from this region. The method minimizes the Chebyshev norm of the sidelobe level. The method is based on linear programming and is solved with the simplex method. The method removes the large fluctuation in sidelobe level which characterizes random sparse arrays. Examples of optimal weighted 1D and 2D planar arrays are presented.