A comparative study of linear array synthesis technique using a personal computer

Five computer programs for synthesizing low-sidelobe sum patterns from linear arrays are evaluated in terms of run time and precision. Three of the programs are based on the Dolph-Chebyshev synthesis procedure, in which all sidelobes are set at the same level. The other two programs are based on a discretized version of the Taylor synthesis procedure, in which far-out sidelobes are allowed to decay. The programs were written for use on small 8- and 16-bit personal computers. It was found that the fastest running programs are also the most precise. The only Chebyshev program that gave satisfactory precision for arrays as large as 100 elements is based on Bresler´s nested product algorithm, and the only similarly acceptable Taylor program is based on Shelton´s discretized synthesis.