Principal features of contour beam phased array antennas

Herein, features of contour beams formed by phased array antennas are considered and main parameters of contoured beam phased arrays are reviewed. The key characteristic of contoured beam quality is the coverage efficiency, which is directly associated with the gain-area product. Contour beams formed by phase-only and amplitude-and-phase optimizations for service areas of different shapes are compared. Behaviors of the beams are interpreted in terms of the geometrical theory of diffraction. Examples of sidelobes suppression are demonstrated. Engineering formulas are proposed for estimation of the parameters of contoured beam array antennas. The features of contour beams scanning are described.