DFT approach to arbitrary planar antenna arrays

Abstract

A method to compute patterns of arbitrary planar antenna arrays based on DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform) is proposed. By complex Fourier series expansion, irregular arrays are approximated to regular arrays. And array patterns are obtained by applying DFT. Examples are provided to illustrate the proposed method. A comparison between the proposed method and the series summation method is performed. The coincident results in patterns show the preciseness of the proposed method, while the computing time ratios show the efficiency of the proposed method.