Experimental adaptive cylindrical array

An adaptive antenna places nulls in its antenna pattern in the direction of the interfering sources. Adaptive antennas are a subset of smart antennas, and have received considerable interest in the recent wireless revolution. This paper presents a successful application of a genetic algorithm with an experimental antenna for placing a null in the direction of an interference source. The experiment took place at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)/Sensors Directorate, Hanscom AFB, MA. Results show that a null can be placed down to the noise floor of the measurement system within 20 to 50 power measurements. Thus, the approach to adaptive nulling is a viable means of quickly placing a null in the sidelobes of a phased array antenna.