Implementation of Null Radiation Pattern of Thinned Active-Phased Array Antenna Using LCMV

In this paper, we propose using linear constraint minimum variance (LCMV) to implement a null radiation pattern for a thinned active-phased array antenna. To implement a thinning factor of less than 60 %, binary-genetic learning particle swarm optimization (GLPSO) was used to optimize the array configuration. When steering in the boresight and at 45° azimuth/elevation angles, the weights derived using the LCMV were applied to the thinned array and compared for the null pattern, main lobe tilt, and level changes before and after the application. The results confirmed a null level of −150 dB formed at the presented point; however, when the number of nulls increased or a null was formed for a side lobe adjacent to the main lobe, the direction of the main lobe tilted by up to 0.3°.