Rapid Design Closure of Linear Microstrip Antenna Array Apertures Using Response Features

A simple yet reliable approach to a rapid design closure of linear antenna array apertures at the electromagnetic (EM)-simulation level is proposed. Our methodology exploits an underlying array factor (AF) model suitably corrected by means of characteristic points (angles and levels) of the radiation pattern of the EM model of the antenna array aperture. This conveniently allows for controlling both the sidelobe levels and the main beamwidth of the radiation pattern. The surrogate model constructed using the characteristic points is iteratively updated and reoptimized within the trust-region-embedded gradient-search framework. Considerable design speedup is achieved by exploiting correlations between the AF and EM models. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated using 12-, 24-, and 36-element linear microstrip antenna array apertures with the optimum designs obtained at the cost of a few EM simulations of the respective structures.