Synthesis of low sidelobe time modulated planar arrays with uniform amplitude and sub-sectional optimized time steps

In this paper, the sub-sectional optimized time steps are utilized to synthesize low sidelobe time modulated planar arrays (TMPAs) with uniform amplitude excitations. The approach is based on the division of the time modulation period T_p into time subsections with variable lengths which are optimized via the differential evolution (DE) algorithm. Planar arrays with square lattices and circular boundaries, as well as planar arrays with triangular lattices and hexagonal boundaries are considered. Numerical results show that -30.0 dB SLL patterns with uniform amplitude excitations can be synthesized for both of the two planar arrays, while the sideband levels (SBLs) are effectively suppressed to -30.0 dB and -27.7 dB, respectively.