Improvement of Radiation Pattern for Linear Antenna Arrays Using Genetic Algorithm

In this paper the beam pattern, sidelobe level and beamwidth of a linear antenna array are examined. Shifting the focus from physical construction to electrical design, one may broadly classify the linear array design into two major categories: uniformly excited arrays and non-uniformly excited arrays. The current text assumes non-uniform excitation and manifests a design goal of maximizing sidelobe level reduction with minimal beamwidth increase. The array geometry synthesis is first formulated as an optimization problem with the goal of sidelobe level (SLL) suppression, and then solved by the Real Coded Genetic Algorithm (RGA) for the optimum element locations and excitation. Five design examples are presented that illustrate the use of the RGA algorithm, and the optimization goal in each example is easily achieved.