An optical subarray antenna having antenna nulling applications

A linear subarray type optical antenna is considered for adaptive applications. The antenna has a small number of subarrays whose radiation patterns cover the region occupied by targets and interference in a near-optimum fashion. The subarray design is such that very low subarray pattern sidelobes are produced, thereby allowing operation in the presence of additional strong interference outside the subarray beams. The design of a near-optimum sheet metal antenna to perform these functions is described and the performance is analyzed.