Rectangular Thinned Arrays Based on McFarland Difference Sets

A new class of analytical rectangular thinned arrays with low peak sidelobe level (PSL) is introduced. The proposed synthesis technique exploits binary sequences derived from McFarland difference sets to design thinned layouts on a lattice of P × P(P+2) positions for any prime P. The pattern features of the arising massively-thinned arrangements characterized by only P × (P+1) active elements are discussed and the results of an extensive numerical analysis are presented to assess advantages and limitations of the McFarland-based arrays.