Design of Simplified Large Array Structures for Preliminary Experimental Validation

A novel methodology for the synthesis of simplified array architectures to be used for the preliminary experimental validation of the radiation performance of planar phased array antennas is presented in this work. The approach, which combines deterministic and stochastic optimization strategies, is aimed at selecting the sub-set of elements of a fully-populated array and at defining their excitations in order to guarantee the achievement of the minimum requested performance through a cost-effective antenna solution. A selected representative example is presented and discussed to show the behavior of the proposed methodology and to assess its effectiveness.