Optimum Sparse Subarray Design for Multitask Receivers

Abstract

The problem of optimum sparse array configuration to maximize the beamformer output signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (MaxSINR) in the presence of multiple sources of interest (SOI) has been recently addressed in the literature. In this paper, we consider a shared aperture system where optimum sparse subarrays are allocated to individual SOIs and collectively span the entire full array receiver aperture. Each subarray may have its own antenna type and can comprise a different number of antennas. The optimum joint sparse subarray design for shared aperture based on maximizing the sum of the subarray beamformer SINRs is considered with and without SINR threshold constraints. We utilize Taylor series approximation and sequential convex programming (SCP) techniques to render the initial non-convex optimization a convex problem. The simulation results validate the shared aperture design solutions for MaxSINR for both cases where the number of sparse subarray antennas is predefined or left to comstitute an optimization variable.