Minkowski Sum Method for Planar Arrays Sensitivity Analysis With Uncertain-But-Bounded Excitation Tolerances

The sensitivity of the power pattern generated by a planar array to both amplitude and phase excitation errors is addressed. Under the hypothesis of uncertain, but bounded, tolerances on the element excitations, an innovative approach based on the integration of the interval analysis and the Minkowski sum is proposed to predict tight, reliable, and inclusive pattern bounds. Representative numerical results are reported and discussed to point out the potentialities and the effectiveness of the proposed approach also in comparison with the state-of-the-art interval-based methods.