An efficient ULA pattern nulling approach in the presence of unknown interference

ABSTRACT

In this study, an adaptive pattern nulling approach of half-wave dipole uniform linear arrays (DULA), inspired by binary bat algorithm (BBA)-based beamformers and the phase-only control of array excitation weights, has been proposed. This helps suppress interference with unknown directions in the sidelobe region. Several scenarios have been conducted to investigate the performance of the proposal including operation speed and adaptive pattern nulling with or without the effect of mutual coupling. The simulation results show that the proposed approach is a potential solution to precisely place nulls at any direction of unknown interferences while maintaining the main lobe and suppressing the sidelobes. In addition, regarding the pattern nulling, the approach proposed in this study demonstrates greater efficiency and higher speed than those using binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO).

KEYWORDS:

• Pattern nulling
• array pattern synthesis
• beamforming
• bat algorithm
• null-steering
• interference suppression
• ULA antennas

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research is supported by Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) [grant number 09/2020/STS01]. In addition, this work is also supported by Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI) [grant number 28-2020-RD/HĐ-ĐHCN].

Notes on contributors

Tong Van Luyen

Tong Van Luyen (T. V. Luyen) was born in Hai Duong, Vietnam, in 1979. He has been a lecturer at Faculty of Electronic Engineering, Hanoi University of Industry since 2002. He received the B.S. and M.S. degree from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, in 2002 and 2004, respectively, and Ph.D. degree from VNU University of Engineering and Technology in 2019. He has been a postdoctal researcher at Advanced Institute of Engineering and Technology (AVITECH) - VNU University of Engineering and Technology since April 2020. His research interests are in Beamforming and Beamsteering for antenna arrays, Smart Antennas, Optimum Array Processing, Nature-inspired Optimization Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence.

Hoang Manh Kha

Hoang Manh Kha (H. M. Kha) was born in Bac Giang, Vietnam, in 1979. He received the B.E and M.E degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering both from Hanoi University of Science and Technology, in 2002 and 2004, respectively. He obtained his Dr.-Eng. (PhD) degree in Communications Engineering from the University of Paderborn, Germany, in 2016 with specialization in parameter estimation of missing data and application to indoor positioning. He is now working as a vice dean of Faculty of Electronics, Hanoi University of Industry. He has served as the Co-TPC Chairs of RICE (2019), TPC member of ATC (2018, 2019), reviewer of REV-ECIT, ATC, Journal of Science and Technology (ISSN 1859-3585). His research interests include digital signal processing, wireless communication, positioning engineering, machine learning and pattern classification, and nature-inspired algorithm application.

Nguyen Viet Tuyen

Nguyen Viet Tuyen (N. V. Tuyen) was born in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, in 1978. He received the B.E degree in Electronics-Telecommunications, the M.E degree in Information processing and Communication both from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, in 2001 and 2006, respectively, the PhD degree in Electronic Engineering from Le Quy Don University, in 2019. He is working as a Lecturer at the Faculty of Electronics, Hanoi University of Industry. His research interests include digital signal processing and wireless communication.

Truong Vu Bang Giang

Truong Vu Bang Giang (T. V. B. Giang) was born in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 1973. He received the BS and MS degrees from the VNU-University of Sciences, in 1994 and 1997, respectively, and the Dr.-Ing. (Ph.D.) degree in Electrical Engineering from the Hamburg-Harburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany, in 2006. From 1997 to 2002, he was a Research Assistant at the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications, VNU-University of Sciences then at the Faculty of Engineering of Vietnam National University, Hanoi. From 2002 to 2006, he did his PhD and then worked as a Development Engineer at the Institute of Communications and Navigation, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. From 2006 to 2015, he worked at VNU-University of Engineering and Technology, where he was the Vice Head of the Division for Science, Technology and Graduate Study (2006–2009) and the Dean of the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications (2009–2015). Since May 2015, he has been appointed as the Deputy Director of Science and Technology Department of Vietnam National University, Hanoi and as the Secretary of the National Research Program for Sustainable Development of North-West Region of Vietnam. He is currently the Vice President of Radio Electronics Association of Vietnam; Member of IEEEMTTs and APS. He has served as the Steering Committee (Co-Chair), Organizing Committee (Chair and Co-Chairs) or Technical Committee of ATC, REV-ECIT, VJMW, VJISAP conferences in Vietnam; Scientific and Technical Committee, International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management and Applied Sciences and Technologies (Thailand); Editorial Board, VNU Journal of Science: Computer Science and Communication Engineering (JCSCE).