The High Frequency (HF, 3–30 MHz) to Very High Frequency (VHF, 30–300 MHz) band is a critical observational window in radio astronomy, playing a key role in the study of early-universe reionization, space weather monitoring, and solar physics. We determine whether a genetic algorithm-optimized sparse configuration of a 64-element planar radio antenna array can minimize the peak sidelobe level and enhance performance within the 10–90 MHz frequency range, compared with a regular configuration. The sparse-optimized array achieves a 1. 04 dB reduction in peak sidelobe level across the frequency band compared with the regular array. Sensitivity improves significantly at all frequency points, with increases of up to 56% at 10 MHz and 45% at 50 MHz. At 90 MHz, the sensitivity matches that of the regular array. At three representative frequencies (50 MHz, 60 MHz, and 70 MHz), grating lobe suppression tests at different scan angles show that the regular array shows prominent grating lobes at specific scan angles (= 53° at 50 MHz, = 30° at 60 MHz, and = 15° at 70 MHz). By contrast, the sparse array shows no observable grating lobes, confirming its superior suppression capability. At wide bandwidths, a sparse array optimized with a genetic algorithm outperforms a regular array in peak sidelobe level, sensitivity, and scanning range, supporting its use as a better technical solution for radio astronomical observations.
Qin et al. (Sat,) studied this question.