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Antennas and Propagation: Chapter 5: Antenna Arrays

Antenna arrays combine multiple antennas to provide more flexibility in signal transmission and reception compared to single antennas. Key techniques for antenna arrays include beamforming using phase shifts to steer radiation patterns, diversity combining redundant signals for robustness, and spatial multiplexing to increase throughput. Optimal array designs can be achieved through synthesis methods that equate the array factor polynomial to a desired pattern shape polynomial to determine element weights.

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Mohit Anand
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96 views35 pages

Antennas and Propagation: Chapter 5: Antenna Arrays

Antenna arrays combine multiple antennas to provide more flexibility in signal transmission and reception compared to single antennas. Key techniques for antenna arrays include beamforming using phase shifts to steer radiation patterns, diversity combining redundant signals for robustness, and spatial multiplexing to increase throughput. Optimal array designs can be achieved through synthesis methods that equate the array factor polynomial to a desired pattern shape polynomial to determine element weights.

Uploaded by

Mohit Anand
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Antennas and Propagation

Chapter 5: Antenna Arrays


5 Antenna Arrays

Advantage
Combine multiple antennas
More flexibility in transmitting / receiving signals
Spatial filtering

Beamforming
Excite elements coherently (phase/amp shifts)
Steer main lobes and nulls

Super-Resolution Methods
Non-linear techniques
Allow very high resolution for direction finding

Antennas and Propagation Slide 2 Chapter 4


5 Antenna Arrays (2)

Diversity
Redundant signals on multiple antennas
Reduce effects due to channel fading

Spatial Multiplexing (MIMO)


Different information on multiple antennas
Increase system throughput (capacity)

Antennas and Propagation Slide 3 Chapter 4


General Array

Assume we have N elements


pattern of ith antenna

Total pattern

Identical antenna elements

Element Factor Array Factor


“Pattern Multiplication”

Antennas and Propagation Slide 4 Chapter 4


Uniform Linear Array (ULA)

Place N elements on the z-axis


Uniform spacing Δ

Antennas and Propagation Slide 5 Chapter 4


Uniform Excitation

Apply equal amplitude to elements


(different phases only)

Recall:

Antennas and Propagation Slide 6 Chapter 4


Uniform Excitation (2)

Note: sin(Nx)/sin(x) behaves


like Nsinc(x)

Maximum occurs for θ= θ0


If we center array about z=0, and normalize Result: Steers a beam in direction
θ= θ0 that has amplitude N1/2
compared to single element
“Array Gain”

Normalize input power with


additional elements for θ= θ0, sin(Nx)/sin(x) goes to N

Antennas and Propagation Slide 7 Chapter 4


Uniform Excitation: Examples

Example: N=8, Δ=λ/2

Antennas and Propagation Slide 8 Chapter 4


Grating Lobes

Problem for Δ > λ/2


Lobes with amplitude equal to main beam appear
Called “grating lobes”
Similar to aliasing in signal processing

Example

Antennas and Propagation Slide 9 Chapter 4


ULA Beamwidth, Directivity

Note: Example values in (.) are for N=8, Δ=λ/2

Antennas and Propagation Slide 10 Chapter 4


Hansen-Woodyard (HWA)

Idea
End-fire excitation has a fat main lobe
Simple coherent excitation not optimal solution for directivity
HWA: do direct maximization

Analysis
Array factor for N elements and progressive phase shift β

Max max AF = 1

Antennas and Propagation Slide 11 Chapter 4


Hansen-Woodyard (2)

Consider small
Means scan angle on “main beam”

Progressive phase shift

Antennas and Propagation Slide 12 Chapter 4


Hansen-Woodyard (3)

Radiation intensity: proportional to |AF|2


In beam direction, θ=0, U(θ) is

Normalize U to make unity at θ=0. Call new function U′(θ)

Directivity found as D0=4πUmax/Prad = Umax/U0, with

How do we maximize D0?

Antennas and Propagation Slide 13 Chapter 4


Hansen-Woodyard (4)

Minimize

Find v, then can compute β

Antennas and Propagation Slide 14 Chapter 4


Hansen-Woodyard (5)

vmin = -1.46

Antennas and Propagation Slide 15 Chapter 4


Hansen-Woodyard (6)

Directivity of HWA:
Is there a cost to increased directivity?

Antennas and Propagation Slide 16 Chapter 4


Non-Uniform Excitation

Increased Flexibility
Weights are general
Similar to a filter synthesis problem

Example methods
Binomial Array
Similar to “maximally flat” filter
No side lobes for Δ < λ/2
Tschebyscheff Array
Similar to “equiripple” filter
Produces smallest beamwidth
for given sidelobe level

Antennas and Propagation Slide 17 Chapter 4


Symmetric Array

Antennas placed symmetrically on ±z axis


(Also same excitation)

Odd number of elements:


put two copies of center element (for two sides)

Amplitude on true center


element is 2a1

Antennas and Propagation Slide 18 Chapter 4


Symmetric Array (2)

Array factors are

Example Methods
Binomial array
Derive based on heuristic argument

Tschebyscheff array
Use direct synthesis procedure

Antennas and Propagation Slide 19 Chapter 4


Binomial Array

2-element Array Δ

Plot of AF1 = 1 + x

Has no side-lobes for Δ < λ/2

Idea to make more dir.


Successively superimpose
pairs of arrays
Generates AF = (AF1)M

Antennas and Propagation Slide 20 Chapter 4


Binomial Array (2)

2-element Array
Δ
1 1
Element 1

3-element Array Δ Δ
Idea: 2-element array 1 2 1
each element has pattern AF1
Element 2

Element 1
4-element Array
1 3 3 1
Can repeat indefinitely Element 2
This procedure is just binomial series!

Antennas and Propagation Slide 21 Chapter 4


Binomial Array (3)

Coefficients

Also given by Pascal’s triangle

Antennas and Propagation Slide 22 Chapter 4


Binomial Array (4)

Advantage
No side lobes

Disadvantages
Wide main lobe
High variation in weights

Antennas and Propagation Slide 23 Chapter 4


General Array Synthesis

Procedure
Expand AF in a (cosine) power series
AF is a polynomial in x, where x=cos u
Choose a desired pattern shape
(polynomial of same order)
Equate coefficients of polynomials
⇒ yields weights on arrays

Example
Dolph-Tschebyscheff Array
Solves: Minimum beamwidth for a prescribed max. sidelobe level

Antennas and Propagation Slide 24 Chapter 4


Tschebyscheff Array

Array factor
Even number of antennas (M is twice # antennas)

Cosine Power Series

Antennas and Propagation Slide 25 Chapter 4


Tschebyscheff Array (2)

Tschebyscheff Polynomials

Recursion

Direct Computation with cos/cosh

Antennas and Propagation Slide 26 Chapter 4


Tschebyscheff Array (3)

Tschebyscheff Polynomials

Antennas and Propagation Slide 27 Chapter 4


Tschebyscheff Example

M = 3 (6 antenna elements)

Antennas and Propagation Slide 28 Chapter 4


Tschebyscheff Example (2)

OK, but
How do we map z to x?

Antennas and Propagation Slide 29 Chapter 4


Tschebyscheff Example (3)

Main beam at
x=1 x = cos u
z = z0
Let z = z0 x

Antennas and Propagation Slide 30 Chapter 4


Tschebyscheff Example (4)

Straightforward generalization for higher orders.

Antennas and Propagation Slide 31 Chapter 4


Tschebyscheff Array (Generalized)

Antennas and Propagation Slide 32 Chapter 4


Gen. Tschebyscheff Array (2)

Can find the am using the same recursive procedure as before.

Antennas and Propagation Slide 33 Chapter 4


Comparison of Beamforming Methods

Δ=π/4, N=8, R0=10 (-20dB side lobes)

Antennas and Propagation Slide 34 Chapter 4


Summary

Antenna Arrays
Offer flexibility over single antenna elements
Array factor / Element Factor
Direct synthesis methods for designing AF
Beamforming
Considered mainly ULA
Uniform excitation (change phases)
Non-uniform: Binomial array, Tschebyscheff
Other possibilities
Non-ULA: circular array, rectangular, sparse arrays
Non-symmetric excitation
Non-linear processing

Antennas and Propagation Slide 35 Chapter 4

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