Y. Li

W. Shi, Y. Li, R. C. de Lamare

A novel sparse array (SA) structure is proposed based on the maximum inter-element spacing (IES) constraint (MISC) criterion. Compared with the traditional MISC array, the proposed SA configurations, termed as improved MISC (IMISC) has significantly increased uniform degrees of freedom (uDOF) and reduced mutual coupling. In particular, the IMISC arrays are composed of six uniform linear arrays (ULAs), which can be determined by an IES set. The IES set is constrained by two parameters, namely the maximum IES and the number of sensors. The uDOF of the IMISC arrays is derived and the weight function of the IMISC arrays is analyzed as well. The proposed IMISC arrays have a great advantage in terms of uDOF against the existing SAs, while their mutual coupling remains at a low level. Simulations are carried out to demonstrate the advantages of the IMISC arrays.

X. Sheng, D. Lu, Y. Li et al.

In this letter, inspired by the maximum inter-element spacing (IES) constraint (MISC) criterion, an enhanced MISC-based (EMISC) sparse array (SA) with high uniform degrees-of-freedom (uDOFs) and low mutual-coupling (MC) is proposed, analyzed and discussed in detail. For the EMISC SA, an IES set is first determined by the maximum IES and number of elements. Then, the EMISC SA is composed of seven uniform linear sub-arrays (ULSAs) derived from an IES set. An analysis of the uDOFs and weight function shows that, the proposed EMISC SA outperforms the IMISC SA in terms of uDOF and MC. Simulation results show a significant advantage of the EMISC SA over other existing SAs.