Reflector antenna power pattern synthesis: a general and efficient approach

A general and computationally efficient procedure is developed for synthesizing the primary illumination of a focusing reflector antenna, in order to obtain the best fit (in the mean square sense) to a given far-field amplitude pattern. The mathematical framework of the synthesis problem is discussed in some detail in order to reveal the difficulties related to its ill-posedness and to the nonuniqueness of the solutions. The advantage of a two-step procedure is then shown, and the corresponding algorithms are developed. The effectiveness and flexibility of the procedure are discussed and illustrated with examples