Analysis and design of multi-pole vector sensor arrays

Abstract

Super-directivity sensor arrays are quite promising in target finding, due to their small size and enhanced directivity. An array design method which can build a desired beam pattern using compact multi-pole sensor arrays is presented in this paper. The proposed method extracts multi-pole modes of different order from the spatial differentials of the sound field, using a square array that consists of vector sensors having dipole directivities. The spatial differential in the extraction procedure is approximated by spatial difference, which decreases the beam pattern performance. The performance degradations in multi-pole beam patterns are investigated at different working frequencies. Simulation and analysis show that the array gain is robust to uncorrelated noise.