A new multi-beam forming method for large array

The conventional multi-beam forming is performed at the element or subarray level. With the former it is not feasible for cost and complexity reasons to process all array element outputs individually. With the latter it is perfect to form singular beam but not perfect for multi-beam. In this paper combining pattern synthesis with spatial interpolation a multi-beam forming method is proposed, The new method can not only achieve multiple beams in arbitrary direction, but also avoid processing all array element outputs individually. Consequently, the proposed method is applicable in practice. Simulation results show that the new method is effective for the multi-beam forming of a large array.