Optimization of Uniform Amplitude Periodic Linear Phased Arrays for Grating Lobe Reduction

The optimization of mode excitation coefficients in linear periodic arrays of multi-mode antenna elements is studied for grating lobe reduction. A novel beamforming architecture is proposed with a new optimization problem based on equi-amplitude element excitations for optimal power efficiency. The capabilities of the proposed synthesis approach on suppressing the grating lobe for wide scan angles, and on maintaining the peak gain at the steering angle are analyzed. A 16-element 0.7-wavelength spaced array of dual-mode circular patch antenna elements is used for demonstration purposes. It is shown that a good performance trade-off is achieved when the excitation amplitude of the high order mode is restricted to a sufficiently large value. The ratio of the peak gain outside the main lobe to the gain at the angle of steering is reduced up to about −15 dB and −14 dB for scanning towards 30 and 45 degrees off-broadside, respectively.