Synthesis of the radiation pattern of retrodirective antenna arrays using the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm

This paper presents a study of radiation pattern synthesis for retrodirective arrays for mobile communication services in a scenario using high altitude platforms (HAPs). For this purpose, a dual-band and dual-polarization microstrip antenna array has been designed, whereby the array should receive the signal in one band and resend it in the other operating band. The radiation pattern in the receiving mode has been synthesized with the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, which allowed steering the main beam and controlling the side lobe level. In order to assess the performance for practical implementation, a study on the impact of the magnitude discretization due to the use of digitally controlled variable-gain amplifiers on the radiation properties of the array in receiving mode was carried out. The results show that the performance is slightly affected by limitations on the RF circuitry for practical implementation.