K.V. Kozlov - Head of Laboratory, JSC «Corporation «Vega» (Moscow). E-mail: mail@vega.su

One of the main properties of active electronically scanned array (AESA), designed for space synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is rather small scanning zone. That is why distance between array elements in such AESA can be several wavelengths long, like in rarefied ar-rays. Usage of rarefied array can significantly reduce the amount of transceiver modules. This causes the reduction of mass, energy con-sumption and price of AESA, which is highly essential for any spacecraft. It is well-known that there can appear grating lobes in radiation pattern. Method of grating lobe reduction is described in this article. Array, to which this method has been applied, is rarefied only in one plain (here horizontal), and each row of array has different element spacing, but constant throughout each row. This article determines the way of changing element spacing for array rows. Each row forms its own individual grating lobe, which has its own individual direction in horizontal plain. That causes the blurring of grating lobe and by the way its reduction. The analysis was made upon the connection between grating lobe level in array factor and grating lobe angular direction of the closest rows. Also, essential factors affecting on grating lobe level was educed. Calculations, which had been made upon the mentioned method of grating lobe reduction, showed that minimal grating lobe level of array factor is near −23 dB and minimal grating lobe level of array radiation pattern is near −22 dB. Taking into consideration radiation array pattern, during the calculation of radiation pattern of array, there has been discovered that grating lobe is reduced outside the main lobe of element pattern and although increased inside the main lobe of element pattern.

 

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