Beamforming strategies for active multi-mode antennas: Maximum gain, Signal-to-Noise ratio, and polarization discrimination

The performance of a dual-polarized quad-mode antenna, representing a potential array antenna element for wide scan-angle applications, is assessed. This analysis is carried out by investigating the utilization of the four available Transverse Electromagnetic (TEM) excitation modes, when beamforming for maximum gain, Signal-to-Noise ratio (SNR), and polarization discrimination whilst retaining minimum noise.