The sidelobe performance of a phased array antenna with fine incremental scan steps

The authors investigate the possibility of changing the phase of central elements of a phased-array antenna to granulate the main beam positions at each course step. The effect of such changes in the phases of both central and edge elements on the radiation pattern characteristics is also investigated. A phased-array antenna with an average beam step size requirement of 0.02 degrees is considered for the purposes of illustration. It is shown that for a given delta , the main beam position depends on the number of elements and the aperture distribution. Furthermore, there is more than one combination, that is, number of elements an inherent phase shift, to yield almost the same position for the main beam. Thus, to determine which combination should be used to produce a particular beam position, the effect of each combination on the radiation pattern characteristics, that is, the sidelobe levels, is studied.<>