Sidelobe minimization of uniformly-excited sparse linear arrays using exhaustive search and visual browsing

Exhaustive searches were applied to uniformly-excited sparse linear arrays to find the configurations with lowest peak sidelobe levels. By removing interior elements from the non-sparse array and moving the remaining elements to intermediate positions, we found configurations with substantially lower peak sidelobe levels than the non-sparse case with minimal broadening of the main lobe. An interactive, visual browser allows a designer to compare configurations and understand the trade-offs between optimal and sub-optimal designs