Optimal design of antenna arrays

Abstract

A universal method for the optimal design of antenna arrays is introduced in this paper. The method is based on the optimization of the power transmission efficiency between the antenna array to be designed and a test antenna array whose elements are placed in the desired directions in which radiations need to be maximized. The optimized distribution of excitations for the antenna array is determined by an eigenvalue equation derived from the Rayleigh quotient for the power transmission efficiency. The method is applicable to any type of antenna array. To demonstrate its validity, different antenna arrays for various applications have been designed using the proposed method.