Synthesis of phased array amplitude weights for stationary sidelobe envelopes using genetic algorithms

This paper describes the application of genetic algorithms to the synthesis of phased array amplitude weights to satisfy a particular stationary sidelobe specification. By 'stationary sidelobe specification' we mean that the sidelobe envelope requirement does not move when the main beam is scanned. It is shown that for small scan angles, the given sidelobe requirements can be satisfied with less taper loss and tighter beamwidth than Taylor weighting, by permitting the close-in sidelobes to rise up to the specified envelope. An arbitrary 70 dB notch in the far sidelobes may be included with minimal additional taper loss or beam broadening. A brief description of the genetic algorithm is provided.