Generation of low sidelobe beams using Taylor's method and genetic algorithm

Various types of non isotropic radiating elements are used in an array in order to achieve the desired characteristics. The lower the sidelobe levels the more is the directivity. Array synthesis is used to obtain the desired pattern and to find the relative element excitations to achieve the desired characteristics. Among the synthesis methods for the generation of the symmetrical patterns the Taylors synthesis is chosen because in this synthesis there is flexibility to fix the sidelobe level and the number of sidelobes having the same sidelobe level. An attempt is also made to use GA for the synthesis of the amplitude excitation coefficients to yield a desired radiation pattern of a linear antenna array with reduced sidelobes and the patterns are compared with the results obtained using Taylor's method. By decreasing the sidelobe levels and beamwidth, pencil beams can be produced which are used for the tracking purposes.