Reconfigurable concentric circular arrays: a novel hybrid synthesis method

In this contribution we focus on sparse circular arrays, i.e., non-periodic sparse arrays employing equi-amplitude radiators arranged in rings. In particular, we show some results achieved in the frame of the activities recently carried under a contract funded by the European Space Agency and focused on the development of an active multibeam sparse array demonstrator for satellite communications. More specifically, we address the synthesis of a reconfigurable sparse array tailored to the radiation of beams with two different beamwidths. The synthesis method is based on a hybrid approach, which exploits at best the partial convexity of the problem at hand. Numerical examples showing the feasibility of the approach for satellite applications are included.