Aperture-Sparsity Analysis of Ultrawideband Two-Dimensional Focused Array

We investigate the effects of aperture sparsity on the focusing performance and the angular-resolution capability of a two-dimensional focused array antenna excited by ultrawideband (UWB) impulse waveforms. The UWB-focusing array is characterized by a planar square aperture and a design parameter referred to as array spatial bandwidth. Spatial bandwidth is a function of the number of array elements, inter-element spacing, and frequency bandwidth. Performance analysis is carried out by generating computer plots of three-dimensional and two-dimensional antenna patterns for different values of array spatial bandwidth that hold for large aperture sparsity and large aperture density. The antenna patterns are peak-amplitude pattern, peak-power pattern, and energy pattern, whose narrow beamwidth and low sidelobe level are robust against aperture sparsity that may be caused by removed or failed elements. The half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of the antenna patterns, the focal distance, and the far-field distance of the UWB-focused array are expressed in terms of array spatial bandwidth. Computer simulation results show that UWB-focused-array beamforming based on impulse waveforms achieves efficient focusing of the radiation energy in the radiation-near-field region and beyond, and yields improvement in focusing performance and angular resolution for increased values of array spatial bandwidth. Such practical advantages are achieved without encountering grating lobes, large sidelobe level, or distortion of the radiation beam pattern that often limit the performance of the conventional narrowband phased array antennas.