A Figure of Merit for Simultaneous-Multi-Beam Transmit Antenna Arrays

We present a simple and useful figure of merit (FoM) with which to evaluate the performance of simultaneous-multi-beam (SMB) transmit (TX) antenna arrays. The FoM builds upon the power-aperture product and effective isotropic radiated power for single-beam arrays and extends it to SMB arrays. The FoM is the product of radiated power, antenna aperture efficiency and the amplifiers power added efficiency. We compute the FoM for three different two-beam TX systems to highlight their differences. This will enable systematic comparison and proper system design for modern and future multi-beam radar and communications.