Investigation of a novel subarray nullsteering technique for distributed random arrays

摘要

This paper presents a new approach to phased array null-steering using randomly distributed antenna arrays. Classically, null-steering is done by applying adaptive amplitude tapers along individual phased array elements; however, this can be difficult and cumbersome to apply in a distributed system. To achieve the same effect, we propose a novel method which employs parasitic subarrays of circular topologies to precisely place nulls in specified directions of interest. Unlike typical adaptive beamforming algorithms, this process does not require the estimation of second order statistical metrics or knowledge of precise element placement; rather, it utilizes a shared aperture approach to generate null beams simultaneously. The analysis that proceeds examines the mean radiation pattern and mean distributions from finite element models to demonstrate the steering capability. The results show that shell annular and circular annular subarrays of the spherical random array composed of monopole elements steer deep nulls in precise increments.