Effect of element pattern on directivity of the hemispherical array

In many communication scenarios, such as in GPS communications and integrated navigation systems, signals with wide space distributions need to be processed simultaneously or promptly. Hemispherical arrays have greater capability in receiving and processing signal than planar arrays, and can provide robust performance. In previous research, the directivity of a hemispherical array is compared with several kinds of planar arrays, that shows this kind of array has essentially better scanning performance. In this paper, the effect of element pattern on the hemispherical array´s scanning directivity is studied, and the main factors which affect the parameters of directivity are analysed and the effects of these factors on directivity are discussed. Simulation results are presented for illustration.