Method of radiation pattern optimization in multibeam antenna arrays

In this paper an efficient numerical optimization method is proposed. The method is intended for radiation pattern optimization of multibeam antenna arrays which cannot be synthesized using an analytical approach. The method is based on minimizing an error function calculated as a difference between the radiation pattern under optimization and the desired radiation pattern. The method allows for taking into account the radiation pattern of a single radiating element, constrains resulting form chosen feeding network and also allows for controlling of the grating lobe level. The presented results confirm usefulness of the method which can be an alternative to the tedious tuning technique.