Analytical and optimization methods for linear arrays with high efficiency and low sidelobes

Array distributions that have a uniformly excited central segment and a monotonically decreasing outer segment have been shown to yield low sidelobe patterns with specified constraints on the effective radiated voltage (ERV). An analytical method has been previously presented for generating these distributions using a constrained least squares (CLS) method, given constraints on both the peak amplitude of the elements and the ERV. Simulated annealing (SA) is a versatile global optimization technique that has been effectively used for a wide variety of array applications. In this paper, we compare the results obtained from generating radiation patterns for linear arrays with high aperture efficiency and low sidelobes using the CLS method and SA optimization.