Enhanced Range Resolution Beamforming for Subarray-Based FDA

To address the range-angle coupling issue of frequency diverse array (FDA), a beamforming method based on subarray partitioning is proposed, with a focus on analyzing uniform continuous and nonuniform discontinuous subarray structures. Based on the transmit–receive signal model established to solve the time-varying issue of FDA, two subarray partitioning methods under the same array aperture are investigated. In the case of uniform continuous subarray structure, when different linear frequency offsets (FOs) are applied to each subarray, the mainlobe width in range dimension is 4.35 km, and the peak sidelobe level (PSLL) is −7.25 dB. When nonlinear FOs are applied, the mainlobe width is reduced to 2.76 km, and the PSLL is decreased to −9.64 dB. Furthermore, by adopting a nonuniform discontinuous subarray structure combined with nonlinear FOs, the mainlobe width is further narrowed to 1.29 km, and the PSLL is reduced to −11.75 dB. The simulation results demonstrate that under the same conditions, the nonuniform discontinuous subarray structure significantly improves range resolution and effectively suppresses sidelobe. Based on above results, a joint optimization combining the bat algorithm (BA) and K-means++ clustering algorithm is proposed to optimize the subarray structure and element amplitudes simultaneously. Finally, the mainlobe width of the optimized FDA is 1.18 km and the PSLL is −12.32 dB. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness and potential of the proposed method in enhancing range resolution and achieving a focused beampattern.