Low sidelobe antenna patterns with failed elements

Many radar and communication systems utilize phased antenna arrays where it is desirable to maintain low-sidelobes even when one or more individual antenna elements have failed. Traditionally, computing low-sidelobe beamforming with disabled elements requires accurate antenna element patterns. In this paper we present a new algorithm for computing low-sidelobe beamforming that only requires the original beamforming weights that produce low sidelobes when all elements are functioning normally. The algorithm is computationally inexpensive, does not require accurate knowledge of the antenna element patterns, and permits user adjustment of the trade-off between sidelobe level, taper loss, and mainbeam width. Near optimum low sidelobes are demonstrated in several examples.