Sparse antenna array design methodologies:A review

Designing a sparse array with reduced transmit/receive modules(TRMs)is vital for some applications where the antenna system’s size,weight,allowed operating space,and cost are limited.Sparse arrays exhibit distinct architectures,roughly classified into three categories:Thinned arrays,nonuniformly spaced arrays,and clustered arrays.While numerous advanced synthesis methods have been presented for the three types of sparse arrays in recent years,a comprehensive review of the latest development in sparse array synthesis is lacking.This work aims to fill this gap by thoroughly summarizing these techniques.The study includes synthesis examples to facilitate a comparative analysis of different techniques in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.Thus,this review is intended to assist researchers and engineers in related fields,offering a clear understanding of the development and distinctions among sparse array synthesis techniques.

Beidou receiver based on anti-jamming antenna arrays with self-calibration for precise relative positioning

Unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)may be subjected to unintentional radio frequency interference(RFI)or hostile jamming attack which will lead to fail to track global navigation satellite system(GNSS)signals.Therefore,the simultaneous realization of anti-jamming and high-precision carrier phase difference positioning becomes a dilemmatic problem.In this paper,a distortionless phase digital beamforming(DBF)algorithm with self-calibration antenna arrays is proposed,which enables to obtain distortionless carrier phase while suppressing jamming.Additionally,architecture of high precision Beidou receiver based on anti-jamming antenna arrays is proposed.Finally,the performance of the algorithm is evaluated,including antenna calibration accuracy,carrier phase distortionless accuracy,and carrier phase measurement accuracy without jamming.Meanwhile,the maximal jamming to signal ratio(JSR)and real time kinematic(RTK)positioning accuracy under wideband jamming are also investigated.The experimental results based on the real-life Beidou signals show that the proposed method has an excellent performance for precise relative positioning under jamming when compared with other anti-jamming methods.

OAM mode purity improvement based on antenna array

Orbital Angular Momentum(OAM)waves are characterized by helical wave fronts and orthogonality between different modes.Therefore,OAM waves have huge potential in improving wireless communications'channel capacity and radar imaging's resolution.Consequently,the generation and application of OAM waves have attracted a lot of attention.And many methods are proposed to generate OAM waves.Although antenna array is the most popular method of generating OAM waves,OAM waves generated by antenna array have redundant modes.However,all advantages of OAM waves are closely related to infinite OAM modes.Thus,to better apply OAM waves to wireless communications and radar,it is very important to reduce unnecessary OAM modes and improve the OAM mode purity.In order to improve the OAM mode purity,two combined antenna arrays composed of X direction antenna and Y direction antenna array are proposed in this paper.The X direction antenna array and the Y direction antenna array are supplied by the excitations with the same amplitude and fixed phase shift.The overall phase shift of the X direction antenna array isπ/2 more or less than that of the Y direction antenna array.The results of formulas and antenna models in CST show that the combined antenna arrays can generate OAM waves with less redundant modes in x component,y component and z component.Besides,the z component carries pure OAM modes.

A Combined Antenna Array Deployment with High Positioning Accuracy and Low Angular Measurement Error

In this paper,an antenna array composed of circular array and orthogonal linear array is proposed by using the design of long and short baseline“orthogonal linear array”and the circular array ambiguity resolution design of multi-group baseline clustering.The effectiveness of the antenna array in this paper is verified by sufficient simulation and experiment.After the system deviation correction work,it is found that in the L/S/C/X frequency bands,the ambiguity resolution probability is high,and the phase difference system error between each channel is basically the same.The angle measurement error is less than 0.5°,and the positioning error is less than 2.5 km.Notably,as the center frequency increases,calibration consistency improves,and the calibration frequency points become applicable over a wider frequency range.At a center frequency of 11.5 GHz,the calibration frequency point bandwidth extends to 1200 MHz.This combined antenna array deployment holds significant promise for a wide range of applications in contemporary wireless communication systems.

New Antenna Array Beamforming Techniques Based on Hybrid Convolution/Genetic Algorithm for 5G and Beyond Communications

Side lobe level reduction(SLL)of antenna arrays significantly enhances the signal-to-interference ratio and improves the quality of service(QOS)in recent and future wireless communication systems starting from 5G up to 7G.Furthermore,it improves the array gain and directivity,increasing the detection range and angular resolution of radar systems.This study proposes two highly efficient SLL reduction techniques.These techniques are based on the hybridization between either the single convolution or the double convolution algorithms and the genetic algorithm(GA)to develop the Conv/GA andDConv/GA,respectively.The convolution process determines the element’s excitations while the GA optimizes the element spacing.For M elements linear antenna array(LAA),the convolution of the excitation coefficients vector by itself provides a new vector of excitations of length N=(2M−1).This new vector is divided into three different sets of excitations including the odd excitations,even excitations,and middle excitations of lengths M,M−1,andM,respectively.When the same element spacing as the original LAA is used,it is noticed that the odd and even excitations provide a much lower SLL than that of the LAA but with amuch wider half-power beamwidth(HPBW).While the middle excitations give the same HPBWas the original LAA with a relatively higher SLL.Tomitigate the increased HPBWof the odd and even excitations,the element spacing is optimized using the GA.Thereby,the synthesized arrays have the same HPBW as the original LAA with a two-fold reduction in the SLL.Furthermore,for extreme SLL reduction,the DConv/GA is introduced.In this technique,the same procedure of the aforementioned Conv/GA technique is performed on the resultant even and odd excitation vectors.It provides a relatively wider HPBWthan the original LAA with about quad-fold reduction in the SLL.

Design of Three-Element Circular Polarization Antenna Array Based on Sequentially Rotated Feed Technique

Circularly polarized antennas are used in communications between ground stations and satellites to achieve reliable communication links.The right-hand circular polarization and left-hand circular polarization are two types of circular polarization in satellite communications,they are used to support uplink and downlink communications.Circularly polarized antennas are used also in radar system for target detection,tracking and identification.The“three-element circularly polarized microstrip array antenna”is designed to produce left-handed circular polarization,make its size compact,make its bandwidth wider than 3.7-4.2GHz and achieve high gain.Circular polarization element antenna and three-element circularly polarized microstrip array antenna are designed and simulated in software HFSS,and the circular polarization element antenna is manufactured and tested in anechoic chamber.For circular polarization element antenna and three-element circularly polarized microstrip array antenna,the study analyzed these parameters:AR,S(1,1),VSWR,bandwidth,normalized impedance,gain and realized gain,radiation efficiency.After optimized,the study get the required results of them.

Electric-controlled metasurface antenna array with ultra-wideband frequency reconfigurable reflection suppression

The electric-controlled metasurface antenna array(ECMSAA)with ultra-wideband frequency reconfigurable reflection suppression is proposed and realized.Firstly,an electriccontrolled metasurface with ultra-wideband frequency reconfigurable in-phase reflection characteristics is designed.The element of the ECMSAA is constructed by loading the single electric-controlled metasurface unit on the conventional patch antenna element.The radiation properties of the conventional patch antenna and the reflection performance of electric-controlled metasurface are maintained when the antenna and the metasurface are integrated.Thus,the ECMSAA elements have excellent radiation properties and ultra-wideband frequency reconfigurable in-phase reflection characteristics simultaneously.To take a further step,a 6×10 ECMSAA is realized based on the designed metasurface antenna element.Simulated and measured results prove that the reflection of the ECMSAA is dynamically suppressed in the P and L bands.Meanwhile,high-gain and multi-polarization radiation properties of the ECMSAA are achieved.This design method not only realizes the frequency reconfigurable reflection suppression of the antenna array in the ultra-wide frequency band but also provides a way to develop an intelligent low-scattering antenna.

Quantum-Inspired Equilibrium Optimizer for Linear Antenna Array

With the rapid development of communication technology,the problem of antenna array optimization plays a crucial role.Among many types of antennas,line antenna arrays(LAA)are the most commonly applied,but the side lobe level(SLL)reduction is still a challenging problem.In the radiation process of the linear antenna array,the high side lobe level will interfere with the intensity of the antenna target radiation direction.Many conventional methods are ineffective in obtaining the maximumside lobe level in synthesis,and this paper proposed a quantum equilibrium optimizer(QEO)algorithm for line antenna arrays.Firstly,the linear antenna array model consists of an array element arrangement.Array factor(AF)can be expressed as the combination of array excitation amplitude and position in array space.Then,inspired by the powerful computing power of quantum computing,an improved quantum equilibrium optimizer combining quantum coding and quantum rotation gate strategy is proposed.Finally,the proposed quantum equilibrium optimizer is used to optimize the excitation amplitude of the array elements in the linear antenna array model by numerical simulation to minimize the interference of the side lobe level to the main lobe radiation.Six differentmetaheuristic algorithms are used to optimize the excitation amplitude in three different arrays of line antenna arrays,the experimental results indicated that the quantum equilibrium optimizer is more advantageous in obtaining the maximum side lobe level reduction.Compared with other metaheuristic optimization algorithms,the quantum equilibrium optimizer has advantages in terms of convergence speed and accuracy.

A Novel Design of Antenna Array with Two K-Band Circularly Polarized Antenna

As an important part of phased array system,the research on phased array antenna is very necessary.The phased array antenna achieves the scanning beam adaptively by regulating the phase difference between each array element.In this paper,a dual K-band circularly polarized antenna with high broadband,broadband beam,wide axial ratio bandwidth and high radiation efficiency is designed.We combine with the advantages of slot antenna and aperture antenna,use multimode waveguide cavity structure to design an aperture antenna,which is fed to waveguide circular polarizer by slot coupling in order to realize circular polarization radiation.Meanwhile,it has the characteristics of broadband,broadband beam,wide axial ratio bandwidth and high radiation efficiency.A slit antenna is designed by using a multimode waveguide cavity structure and a slit coupling feed to a waveguide circular polarizer is used to achieve circularly polarized radiation.The designed antenna consists of two K-band circularly polarized antenna units,and the spacing between the two units is 9.5 mm,which is fed by aK-band T/R module(Transmitter/Receiver module).In order to study the performance of the pattern in the case of the research group,the 2-unit structure is established.The simulation results of frequency–axial ratio bandwidth are given,and the simulation result of the antenna array is shown.The practical results of antenna design and test are also given.

A 37 GHz Millimeter-Wave Antenna Array for 5G Communication Terminals

This work presents,design and specific absorption rate(SAR)analysis of a 37GHz antenna,for 5th Generation(5G)applications.The proposed antenna comprises of 4-elements of rectangular patch and an even distribution.The radiating element is composed of copper material supported by Rogers RT5880 substrate of thickness,0.254 mm,dielectric constant(εr),2.2,and loss tangent,0.0009.The 4-elements array antenna is compact in size with a dimension of 8mm×20mm in length and width.The radiating patch is excited with a 50 ohms connector i.e.,K-type.The antenna resonates in the frequency band of 37 GHz,that covers the 5G applications.The antenna behavior is studied both in free space and in the proximity of the human body.Three models of the human body,i.e.,belly,hand,and head(contain skin,fat,muscles,and bone)are considered for on-body simulations.At resonant frequency,the antenna gives a boresight gain of 11.6 dB.The antenna radiates efficiently with a radiated efficiency of more than 90%.Also,it is observed that the antenna detunes to the lowest in the proximity of the human body,but still a good impedance matching is achieved considering the−10 dB criteria.Moreover,SAR is also being presented.The safe limit of 2 W/kg for any 10 g of biological tissue,specified by the European International Electro Technical Commission(IEC)has been considered.The calculated values of SAR for human body models,i.e.,belly,hand and head are 1.82,1.81 and 1.09 W/kg,respectively.The SAR values are less than the international recommendations for the three models.Furthermore,the simulated and measured results of the antenna are in close agreement,which makes it,a potential candidate for the fifth-generation smart phones and other handheld devices.

A Frequency Domain Based Signal Combining Method for Distributed Antenna Arraying

Distributed antenna arraying is a promising technology for weak signal reception. The received signals from different antennas are aligned and combined to improve the receiving signal-to-noise ratio(SNR). However, the combining performance is serious degraded by the difference of sampling frequency between antennas. In this paper, a frequency domain based signal combining method is proposed to solve this problem. The unaligned sampled data in time domain of the received signals are transformed to frequency domain using fast Fourier transform(FFT). The received signals can be aligned in frequency domain when their spectrum resolutions are the same. Therefore the received signals with the same total sampling time can be aligned and combined in frequency domain and then the combined signal is recovered using inverse fast Fourier transform(IFFT). Numerical simulations with two typical modulation types, i.e., PSK and PCM/BPSK/PM, prove the validity and robustness of this method.

Design of Ka-Band Phased Array Antenna with Calibration Function

In this paper,we have proposed a novel structure of Ka-band based phased array antenna with calibration function.In the design of Kaband antenna,the active phased array system is adopted and the antenna would work in the dual polarization separation mode.We have given out the schematic diagram for the proposed Ka-band antenna,where the Kaband antenna is in the form of waveguide slot array antenna,with 96 units in azimuth and 1 unit in distance.Each group of units is driven by a singlechannel Transmitter/Receiver(T/R)component,and the whole array contains 192 T/R components in total.The size of the T/R component is 55mm(length)×50mm(width)×5.8mm(height),3 Sub-micro Sub-Miniature Push-on(SSMP)blind sockets and a 21-core low-frequency socket are designed on the two sides of the T/R component.In order to meet the technical specifications of phased array antenna,the Ka-band transceiver component is designed based on Low Temperatrue Co-fired Ceramic(LTCC)technology to achieve miniaturization and lightweight.In our approach,the feed network includes two parts:transceiver network and calibration network.The transceiver network consists of 241:8 time-delay power dividers,12 two-way power dividers and 2 six-way time-delay power dividers.The power supply required by theKaband antenna unit is provided to each active component by the power module after Ka band wavelet control distribution.Simulation and measurement results are given in the form of standing wave and scanning capability.

Differential Quasi-Yagi Antenna and Array

A novel differential quasi-Yagi antenna is first presented and compared with a normal single-ended counterpart.The simulated and measured results show that the differential quasi-Yagi antenna outperforms the conventional single-ended one.The differential quasi-Yagi antenna is then used as an element for linear arrays.A study of the coupling mechanism between the two differential and the two singleended quasi-Yagi antennas is conducted,which reveals that the TE0 mode is the dominant mode,and the driver is the decisive part to account for the mutual coupling.Next,the effects of four decoupling structures are respectively evaluated between the two differential quasi-Yagi antennas.Finally,the arrays with simple but effective decoupling structures are fabricated and measured.The measured results demonstrate that the simple slit or air-hole decoupling structure can reduce the coupling level from−18 dB to−25 dB and meanwhile maintain the impedance matching and radiation patterns of the array over the broad bandwidth.The differential quasi-Yagi antenna should be a promising antenna candidate for many applications.

Design of a High-Gain 2 × 1 Array Antenna for S-Band Applications

Antennas are an indispensable element in wireless networks. For long-distance wireless communication, antenna gains need to be very strong (highly directive) because the signal from the antenna loses a lot of strength as it travels over long distances. This is true in the military with missile, radar, and satellite systems, etc. Antenna arrays are commonly employed to focus electromagnetic waves in a certain direction that cannot be achieved perfectly with a single-element antenna. The goal of this study is to design a rectangular microstrip high-gain 2 × 1 array antenna using ADS Momentum. This microstrip patch array design makes use of the RT-DUROID 5880 as a substrate with a dielectric constant of 2.2, substrate height of 1.588 mm, and tangent loss of 0.001. To achieve efficient gain and return loss characteristics for the proposed array antenna, RT-Duroid is a good choice of dielectric material. The designed array antenna is made up of two rectangular patches, which have a resonance frequency of 3.3 GHz. These rectangular patches are excited by microstrip feed lines with 13 mm lengths and 4.8 mm widths. The impedance of the patches is perfectly matched by these transmission lines, which helps to get better antenna characteristics. At a resonance frequency of 3.3 GHz, the suggested antenna array has a directivity of 10.50 dB and a maximum gain of 9.90 dB in the S-band. The S parameters, 3D radiation pattern, directivity, gain, and efficiency of the constructed array antenna are all available in ADS Momentum.

Miniaturized Electronically Steerable Parasitic Array Antenna

In this article we propose a miniaturized dual-band electronically steerable parasitic array radiator (ESPAR) antenna. The antenna can generate up to two steerable beams. The beam-steering range of the proposed antenna is 360˚ in the azimuth plane. The antenna’s eual-band coverage includes the frequency ranges from 2.3 GHz to 2.53 GHz and from 2.9 GHz to 3.7 GHz. The antenna consists of six folded parasitic monopole elements surrounding an active conical element. The folded monopole element design offers three times lower antenna height than that of the conventional ESPAR antennas. The active element has conical shape and it is larger in length than the parasitic monopole elements, this enables the dual-band operation. Thus, the proposed design is not only smaller than the conventional ESPAR antennas but it also achieves dual-band operation. Despite its compact design, the antenna has a peak gain of 6.3 dBi, which is equivalent to the gain of conventional ESPAR antennas. These characteristics make the antenna a good candidate for next generation communication systems.

Effect of antenna helicity on discharge characteristics of helicon plasma under a divergent magnetic field

The characteristics of the blue core phenomenon observed in a divergent magnetic field helicon plasma are investigated using two different helical antennas, namely right-handed and lefthanded helical antennas. The mode transition, discharge image, spatial profiles of plasma density and electron temperature are diagnosed using a Langmuir probe, a Nikon D90 camera,an intensified charge-coupled device camera and an optical emission spectrometer, respectively.The results demonstrated that the blue core phenomenon appeared in the upstream region of the discharge tube at a fixed magnetic field under both helical antennas. However, it is more likely to appear in a right-handed helical antenna, in which the plasma density and ionization rate of the helicon plasma are higher. The spatial profiles of the plasma density and electron temperature are also different in both axial and radial directions for these two kinds of helical antenna. The wavelength calculated based on the dispersion relation of the bounded whistler wave is consistent with the order of magnitude of plasma length. It is proved that the helicon plasma is part of the wave mode discharge mechanism.

A 27 GHz,simple 2-bit 1×8 phased array

This study demonstrates a simple 2-bit phased array operating at 27 GHz that supports one-dimensional beam scanning with left-handed circular polarization(LHCP).The antenna is constructed using a compact four-layer printed circuit board(PCB)structure,consisting of a 90°phase shifter layer with microstrip structures,a ground(GND)layer,a direct current(DC)control layer,and a circularly polarized annular radiation patch layer with 1-bit phase shifting.Based on the proposed unit structure,a 1×8 array with half-wavelength inter-element spacing was designed and validated.Experimental results show that the array achieves a peak gain of 10.23 dBi and is capable of beam scanning within±50°.

Performance analysis of the mutual coupling effect on Phased Array Feeds

A phased array feed(PAF)is a type of receiving array that places phased array antennas on the focal plane of a radio telescope to expand its field of view and improve observation efficiency.Owing to the mutual coupling effect between elements caused by a tightly arranged feed array,which changes the performance of a PAF,this paper presents a 7×7 rectangular feed array model for a 25 m reflector telescope.By adjusting the element spacings,the performance of a PAF with different spacings is comprehensively analyzed with respect to the mutual coupling effect via performance statistics and comparison.This research aims to provide a reference for the preliminary design of a related PAF.

The electrical design of a membrane antenna for a lunar-based low-frequency radio telescope

Detecting primordial fluctuations from the cosmic dark ages requires extremely large low-frequency radio telescope arrays deployed on the far side of the Moon.The antenna of such an array must be lightweight,easily storable and transportable,deployable on a large scale,durable,and capable of good electrical performance.A membrane antenna is an excellent candidate to meet these criteria.We study the design of a low-frequency membrane antenna for a lunar-based low-frequency(<30 MHz)radio telescope constructed from polyimide film widely used in aerospace applications,owing to its excellent dielectric properties and high stability as a substrate material.We first design and optimize an antenna in free space through dipole deformation and coupling principles,then simulate an antenna on the lunar surface with a simple lunar soil model,yielding an efficiency greater than 90%in the range of 12-19 MHz and greater than 10%in the range of 5-35 MHz.The antenna inherits the omni-directional radiation pattern of a simple dipole antenna in the 5-30 MHz frequency band,giving a large field of view and allowing detection of the 21 cm global signal when used alone.A demonstration prototype is constructed,and its measured electrical property is found to be consistent with simulated results using|S11|measurements.This membrane antenna can potentially fulfill the requirements of a lunar low-frequency array,establishing a solid technical foundation for future large-scale arrays for exploring the cosmic dark ages.

NON-UNIFORM LINEAR ARRAY CONFIGURATION FOR MIMO RADAR

Array configuration of multiple-input multiple-output （MIMO） radar with non-uniform linear array （NLA） is proposed. Unlike a standard phased-array radar where NLA is used to generate thinner beam patterns, in MIMO radar the property of NLA is exploited to get more distinct virtual array elements so as to improve pa- rameter identifiability, which means the maximum number of targets that can be uniquely identified by the radar. A class of NLA called minimum redundancy linear array （MRLA） is employed and a new method to construct large MRLAs is descrihed. The numerical results verify that compared to uniform linear array （ULA） MIMO radars, NLA MIMO radars can retain the same parameter identifiability with fewer physical antennas and achieve larger aperture length and lower Cramer-Rao bound with the same number of the physical antennas.