This article presents randomly grouped subarray techniques to reduce the number of phase shifters in a 2-D phased array while maintaining a certain scan range in the azimuth and elevation planes and keeping sidelobes below a specified level. It is shown that controlling random groups of elements in such a manner suppresses these grating lobes and allows the use of fewer phase shifters. Guidelines for finding the best partition of a phased array into random subgroups are presented. It is shown that 75% reduction in phase shifters can be achieved while maintaining a 40° scan range in the azimuth plane, 15° scan range in the elevation plane, and keeping −10 to −12 dB sidelobes without tapering and with 6 dB taper. Other partitions are also presented with up to 88% reduction in phase shifters while maintaining a 5° scan range in elevation. Measurements on a $16\times16\,\,2$ -D phased array at 14 GHz are used to confirm the performance of randomly partitioned phased arrays. Application areas are in arrays with limited scan angle in the elevation plane, such as automotive radars, aircraft landing systems, and point-to-point communication systems.

中文翻译：

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使用随机分组子阵列和减少移相器数量的有限扫描角相控阵

本文介绍了随机分组子阵列技术，以减少二维相控阵中移相器的数量，同时在方位角和仰角平面中保持一定的扫描范围，并将旁瓣保持在指定水平以下。结果表明，以这种方式控制随机元件组会抑制这些栅瓣并允许使用较少的移相器。介绍了如何将相控阵最佳划分为随机子组的指南。结果表明，在保持方位平面 40° 扫描范围、仰角平面 15° 扫描范围并保持 -10 至 -12 dB 旁瓣不逐渐变细和 6 dB 锥度的同时，可以实现移相器减少 75% . 其他分区的移相器也减少了 88%，同时保持了 5° 的仰角扫描范围。在 14 GHz 的 $16\times16\,\,2$ -D 相控阵上的测量用于确认随机分区相控阵的性能。应用领域为仰角平面有限扫描角度的阵列，如汽车雷达、飞机着陆系统、点对点通信系统等。