Optimization of linear array antenna pattern synthesis using bacterial foraging algorithm

This paper presents Bacterial Foraging Algorithm (BFA) for the design of uniform linear antenna arrays for null steering by controlling only the element amplitudes. The BFA is a new evolutionary computing technique based on the foraging behavior of Escherichia coli bacteria in human intestine. It was successfully used to solve various kinds of engineering problems. The optimization method is applied to obtain the excitation coefficients for a 10 element linear array at 30dB side lobe level. From simulation results, it is found that the BFA is capable of steering the array nulls precisely to the undesired interference directions.