Analysis of planar arrays using Sudoku puzzles for multiple beamforming

In several wireless applications involving communication and radar systems, the concept of Frequency Diverse Arrays (FDA) is becoming a popular choice. These types of arrays provide greater flexibility than the conventional phased arrays in beam steering and beamforming applications. Even though phased arrays have shown success in beam steering and beamforming with respect to flexible beam scanning in detecting and tracking weak targets, the major drawback is the beam steering occurring at a fixed angle for all ranges. To mitigate this, FDA utilizes applying a phase progression across all the elements in the array. As a result, this enables more degrees of freedom with respect to beam scanning and reducing effects due to multi-path and other interferences. The focus of this paper is to detail the design of FDAs using Sudoku arrays in radar applications involving beamforming and beam steering along with analyzing multiple beams simultaneously forming at different directions. Simulations were performed using MATLAB, in which antenna arrays were designed with uniform spacing of half-wavelength and operated at a constant frequency. Radiation pattern and polar plot of the antenna array were analyzed with respect to sidelobes levels and beamwidth.