Iterative fast Fourier transform for side lobe level reduction of non-uniformly excited thinned linear array antenna

This paper describes the design of non-uniformly excited and uniformly spaced thinned linear array antenna. The method is based on the iterative fast Fourier transform. Thinning of the antenna array can be accomplished by making the predetermined number of element excitations to zero to meet the desired side lobe level. In this paper two examples are presented for the maximization of the number of switched off elements to meet the desired side lobe level of -35 dB and -30 dB with a linear array antenna of 160 elements. The basic advantage of the iterative Fourier transform is its computational speed.