Synthesis of near-field patterns of arrays

A new technique of synthesis of near-field (NF) amplitude and phase patterns of linear, planar, of volume arrays of finite size or arrays located on a planar contour of finite size is presented. The array could consist of point dipoles or directive elements. The criterion for prescribing the NF (amplitude and phase) pattern information in the synthesis problem for unique determination of array excitation currents is also stated. The proposed near-field synthesis technique is based on the potential integral solution of source currents, Nyquist sampling of the near-field data and the technique of linear least square approximation (LLSA). The NF pattern synthesis technique is illustrated to synthesize a variety of NF patterns with a number of array configurations. Application of the proposed NF pattern synthesis technique to minimize distortion in far-field patterns of arrays mounted on a conducting platform and to realize array antennas with low sidelobes in the near and far field is also presented.