Fully interleaved linear arrays with predictable sidelobes based on almost difference sets

The present study proposes an analytical technique based on almost difference sets (ADSs) for the design of interleaved linear arrays with well-behaved and predictable radiation features. Thanks to the mathematical properties of ADSs, such a methodology allows the design of interlaced arrangements with peak sidelobe levels (PSLs) only dependent on the aperture size, the number of elements of each subarray and the behaviour of the autocorrelation function of the ADS at hand. PSL bounds are analytically derived and an extensive numerical validation is provided to assess the reliability, the computational efficiency and the effectiveness of the proposed approach. It is worth noticing that, although without any optimisation, such an analytic techniques still able to improve (on average ≃0.3 dB) the performances of GA-optimised layouts.