Phase-only pattern synthesis based on gradient-descent optimization

By applying phase-only technique in array antenna pattern synthesis, antenna arrays can form desired patterns with the use of phase shifters only. A novel phase-only pattern synthesis algorithm is proposed for the passive phased array seeker. This algorithm synthesizes the main beam of the antenna pattern through least-squares approximation, thus minimizing the errors between the actual and the desired main beams. The synthesis problem can be solved by applying gradient-descent optimization. The item for suppressing side lobes is added to the above synthesis problem. To obtain a side lobe level as low as possible, the algorithm assigns different weights to different directions in the side lobe region. The algorithm is run repeatedly and the weights are adjusted adaptively according to the normalized power in the side lobe directions. Detailed examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach.