Shape and excitation optimization for conformal array antennas

We present a procedure for the optimization of array antennas that conform to circular cylinders in two space dimensions. For a phase-mode excitation of the antenna, a large number of antenna element designs are compared in terms of two objectives: (1) the active reflection coefficient and (2) the far-field distortion with respect to the excited phase-mode. This analysis yields Pareto fronts with respect to the two objectives and appropriate designs are selected based on the information collected for the useful phase modes given a specific frequency band. This antenna element design is used for the pattern synthesis, where we optimize a linear combination of (1) requirements on the directive gain and (2) similar requirements on the power reflected from the array antenna aperture.