Improved pencil beam patterns of linear arrays by unequal spacing

The optimization of the field patterns (e.g. reducing sidelobes or beamwidth) of a given equally spaced array by altering the element spacings is still a challenging problem with considerable practical advantages. These include reduction in the size, weight and number of elements of the array. In an earlier paper Kumar and Branner (see Proc. of the 1997 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, Montreal, 1997) had outlined a novel inversion algorithm that synthesizes the element spacings from prescribed far-zone electric field and current distribution. In this paper, the effects of a new parameter, i.e. the space-broadening factor /spl Delta/ on the sidelobe levels are studied in detail.