Spatial Interference Reduction by Subarray Stacking in Large Two-Dimensional Antenna Arrays

This article proposes a systematic approach for stacking uniform linear arrays (ULAs) of different sizes to reduce sidelobes and form nulls to the radiated beam pattern. In sidelobe reduction, the nulls and sidelobes of the vertically stacked ULAs are aligned to reduce the overall sidelobe level (SLL). In nulling, the nulls of varying length ULAs are aligned to configure the null direction and simultaneously reduce the sidelobes. Both approaches are relaxed to ensure the feasibility of the implementation. The stacking methods are studied by an extensive set of simulations together with azimuth and elevation beamforming. A sidelobe reduction method showed potential for better than 30 dB SLL and more than 20 dB relative null depth with less than 100 antenna elements. Finally, the concepts are validated by beam pattern measurements of a 28 GHz 64-element, 16-chain phased-array transceiver using a 100 MHz wide 5G waveform.