Antenna array pattern synthesis for space communication applications

The proposed method allows very rapid synthesis of large antenna arrays, affording footprint patterns of satisfactory quality. It is possible to reduce the number of array elements by reducing the number of filled nulls of the modified Elliott-Stern pattern that is sampled at the expense of reducing of the average slope of the pattern (dropoff rate) and a small reduction in the pattern directivity. Furthermore, by combination of the Elliott-Stern method and a 3D version of Woodward-Lawson method it is possible to perform rapid synthesis of irregular footprints generated by conformal arrays that are too large to allow direct optimization of array excitations by numerical methods.