A technique for the array partitioning

A first stage of a sub-array synthesis method is presented. The approach refers to a continuous aperture radiating multiple beams thanks to a phase-only control and its aim is to determine the optimal partitioning of an aperture into sub-apertures fed with a constant phase. The technique is based on a multi-stage approach. Several synthesis tools are used in cascade to perform the multiple beam synthesis of a prefixed aperture. To improve the effectiveness of the method, an interleaved use of global and local optimizers is adopted and the number of the unknowns is progressively increased from stage to stage. A numerical analysis is reported to show the effectiveness of the method.