Transmit pattern synthesis for uniform circular arrays with active reflection constraints

Circular arrays offer many advantages over traditional linear and planar arrays in modern radar systems. The circular geometry facilitates design of omnidirectional, sector, and/or directional radiation patterns that can cover a full 360 degrees without the need for mechanical scanning and without degradation to beamwidth, gain, or sidelobe level. However, the design of these patterns is complicated by the need to account for unique embedded element patterns for all elements within the array and the sensitivity of the active reflections to the density of the array elements around the circle. In this paper we describe circular array pattern synthesis approaches that enable array pattern flexibility with bounds on the reflected power.