Simple Technique to Predict Beam Direction Based on Element Pattern and Array Factor in Small- and Medium-Sized Arrays

It is well known that, in an array, the actual beam direction differs from the beam direction of the array factor. This is an issue coming up especially when studying beam steering in small- and medium-sized arrays. There, the effect may be considerable. It seriously affects the electronics taking care of the steering. This letter derives a simple relation between the actual beam direction and the beam direction of the array factor. Its use makes the programming of electronic beam steering much easier. This relation is validated by experiments on a 2×1 array, the array most sensitive to the effect, and an 8×8 array.