Particle swarms applied to array synthesis and planar near-field antenna measurements

The usefulness and limitations of several particle swarm optimization schemes when applied to linear array synthesis considering directive element patterns and to antenna far-field pattern reconstruction from planar near-field acquisition are presented. Particle swarm optimization with either synchronous or asynchronous updates of the swarm as well as global or local topologies have been considered. For both applications, results comparing the four optimization techniques are reported and discussed. Finally, results considering complex and phase-only linear array synthesis, along with results of near-field to far-field transformation for a pyramidal horn are also included. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.