A method for design of digital beamformer with prescribed main beam width and sidelobe level

This paper presents a new method for design of digital beamformer with prescribed main beam width and sidelobe level using uniform linear array. The method provides for the specification of narrow beam width, while at the same time allowing for the specification of low sidelobe level. In addition, by employing spatial interpolation at digital signal processing section, the number of antenna elements and the corresponding RF modules, A/D converter etc. are significantly reduced, while still retaining same main beam width and sidelobe level as the traditional beamforming method that requires larger number of elements. Illustrative example which demonstrates the design of new method is included.