Synthesis of Conformal Arrays With Optimized Polarization

Adaptive array theory is applied to a conformal antenna array to synthesize a main beam with optimized polarization employing dual polarized patch antennas as radiators. The required polarization in the main beam region of the array is realized by combining the weighted individual feeding ports of the patch antennas before the beam forming optimization is performed. This significantly reduces the number of unknowns in the beam forming optimization problem compared to previous optimization schemes for conformal arrays with optimized polarization properties. A numerical example for an array of dual fed linear patch antennas conformal to a spherical surface is presented. Measured pattern data for the patches are used to synthesize a main beam with specific linear polarization.