Null synthesis for rigid and reconfigurable surface reflector antennas

Previous work is extended to include the synthesis of nulls in the antenna pattern, so that in addition to the specification of the high-gain coverage region of the pattern, one or more angles may be specified at which the antenna gain is to be minimized. An extension of this technique which allows low sidelobe levels to be enforced over specified areas of the pattern is also developed. A prototype mesh reflector antenna with a 28 lambda aperture and 52 control points on a 3 lambda grid has been constructed. A comparison of predicted and measured results is presented, showing generally very close agreement.<>