Synthesis of Conformal Phased Antenna Arrays With A Novel Multiobjective Invasive Weed Optimization Algorithm

Abstract

AbstractBy virtue of the excellent aerodynamic performances, conformal phased arrays have been attracting considerable attention. However, for the synthesis of patterns with low/ultra-low sidelobes of the conventional conformal arrays, the obtained dynamic range ratios of amplitude excitations could be quite high, which results in stringent requirements on various error tolerances for practical implementation. Time-modulated array (TMA) has the advantages of low sidelobe and reduced dynamic range ratio requirement of amplitude excitations. This paper takes full advantages of conformal antenna arrays and time-modulated arrays. The active-element-pattern, including element mutual coupling and platform effects, is employed in the whole design process. To optimize the pulse durations and the switch-on instants of the time-modulated elements, multiobjective invasive weed optimization (MOIWO) algorithm based on the nondominated sorting of the solutions is proposed. A S-band 8-element cylindrical conformal array is designed and a S-band 16-element cylindrical-parabolic conformal array is constructed and tested at two different steering angles.