Impact of Angular Resolution in Antenna Array Topology using Virtual Array
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRFMCT.2026.v03i02.001Keywords:
Antenna, Virtual array, Beam, Uniform linear array, Uniform rectangular array, Uniform circular arrayAbstract
Antenna arrays play a crucial role in various applications such as radar systems, wireless communications, and radio astronomy, where accurate direction finding and localization are essential. One of the key challenges in antenna array systems is achieving high angular resolution without significantly increasing the physical size or complexity of the array. This work proposes the use of virtual array synthesis techniques. These techniques aim to create a virtual array with a larger effective aperture, which leads to improved angular resolution. The analysis of the synthesized arrays will involve both numerical simulations and practical measurements using a prototype array system. The performance metrics will be compared against those of conventional antenna arrays to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed virtual array synthesis techniques. Additionally, the impact of various design parameters, such as the number of elements, element spacing, and signal processing algorithms, will be investigated to provide insights for practical implementations. Advanced optimization algorithms and simulation tools will be employed to evaluate the performance of these topologies, specifically focusing on angular resolution enhancement, reduction of main lobe width, and suppression of side lobe levels. Different virtual array topologies built and examined in this proposed work also estimated the beam pattern for each topology and evaluated its performance in terms of bandwidth and side lobe levels. In comparison also discussed for the topologies.
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