Application of improved Particle Swarm Optimization technique for thinning of concentric hexagonal array antenna

In this paper, the optimal thinning of two-ring Concentric Hexagonal Array (CHA) of uniformly excited isotropic antennas which can generate directive beam with minimum relative Side Lobe Level (SLL) is described. The Improved Particle Swarm Optimization (IPSO) method, which represents a new approach for optimization problems in electromagnetic, is used in the optimization process. To determine an optimal set of ‘ON-OFF’ elements that provide a radiation pattern with maximum SLL reduction, the IPSO algorithm is used. The simulation results show that the number of antenna array elements can be brought down more than 50% of total isotropic elements with simultaneous reduction in Side Lobe Level (SLL) with an approximately fixed first null beam width (FNBW). Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), as well is also adopted to compare the results of above IPSO.