Mutual Coupling Compensation-based Nonuniform Fourier Transform Technique for Accurate and Efficient Pattern Evaluation and its Application to Synthesis of Aperiodic Arrays

Abstract

A rapid solution for evaluating the radiation pattern of aperiodic arrays, taking into account mutual coupling, is presented in this paper. The evaluation is achieved by eliminating the anisotropy of the active element pattern of the array through the use of the mutual coupling compensation matrix (MCCM) technique, in conjunction with the non-uniform fast Fourier transform (NuFFT). In order to eliminate the impact of mutual coupling on array pattern calculation, the MCCM is utilized to convert the active element pattern (AEP) of each element into a shared uniform term and make the NuFFT technique suitable for the array pattern calculation. The proposed solution is validated by evaluating the radiation pattern of a 64-element planar aperiodic array. In addition, the proposed solution is integrated into the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to realize a pattern synthesis method. Two synthesized patterns, including a pencil beam with low sidelobe level and a flat-top beam pattern, are executed to validate. Compared with several reported methods, the proposed method can improve the synthesis efficiency and maintain good accuracy simultaneously.