ADS-Based Guidelines for Thinned Planar Arrays

We propose an analytical technique based on almost difference sets (ADSs) for thinning planar arrays with well controlled sidelobes. The method allows one to synthesize bidimensional arrangements with peak sidelobe levels (PSLs) predictable and deducible from the knowledge of the array aperture, the filling factor, and the autocorrelation function of the ADS at hand. The numerical validation, concerned with both small and very large apertures, points out that the expected PSL values are significantly below those of random arrays and comparable with those from different sets (DSs) although obtainable in a wider range of configurations.