Patent ID: 6738018
Filing Date: 2004-05-18
Classification: G01S,H01Q

Abstract:
In a phased array antenna system having a plurality of antenna elements configured as a plurality of sub-arrays, a method for cascaded processing of signals to reduce interference from at least one undesired signal, comprising the steps of:selectively applying a weighting factor to each of said antenna elements to form a plurality of sub-array beams, each pointed in a selected direction; for each said sub-array combining an output from each said antenna element in said sub-array to produce a single sub-array output signal; selectively weighting and combining said sub-array output signal received from at least one of said sub-arrays with a sub-array output signal from at least a second one of said sub-arrays in a fully adaptive process performed at an array level for producing an array output signal having a signal-to-noise plus interference ratio; estimating an angle-of-arrival direction for a signal of interest SOI and at least one signal not of interest SNOI; responsive to said estimating step, calculating a new set of weighting factors for controlling at least one said sub-array beam to improve said signal to-noise plus interference ratio obtained for said SOI in said array output signal; and selectively controlling said weighting factors for said at least one sub-array beam in accordance with said calculating step.