Synthesis of Sub-Arrayed Time Modulated Linear Arrays Through a Multi-Stage Approach

The synthesis of sub-arrayed time-modulated linear arrays is addressed in this paper by means of a multi-stage approach. An efficient algorithm based on an excitation matching strategy is used at the first stage to define the “best compromise” sub-array configuration. Successively, the digital pulse sequence controlling a set of RF switches devoted to enforce the time-modulation at the sub-array level is optimized by means of a stochastic global optimizer. Selected results are reported and compared with state-of-the-art solutions to show potentialities/advantages and limitations/disadvantages of the proposed approach.