Phased Array Antenna Beamforming

Beamforming is a signal processing technique used for directional signal transmission or reception with sensor arrays. By appropriately combining phased array elements, it creates constructive interference at specific angles while suppressing signals through destructive interference at other angles. This technique can be applied at both transmission and reception ends to achieve spatial selectivity. In contrast to omnidirectional patterns, the enhancement in reception/transmission performance is characterized as receive/transmit gain (or loss). Beamforming operates with both radio waves and acoustic waves, finding extensive applications in radar, sonar, seismology, wireless communications, radio astronomy, acoustics, and biomedical engineering. Adaptive beamforming is a signal processing technique that detects and estimates signals of interest through optimal spatial filtering and interference suppression using algorithms like Least Mean Squares (LMS) or Recursive Least Squares (RLS). Implementation typically involves weight vector calculation using covariance matrix inversion and steering vector optimization to maximize Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR). Code implementations often utilize MATLAB's Phased Array System Toolbox functions such as 'phased.PhaseShiftBeamformer' for basic beamforming or 'phased.LCMVBeamformer' for constrained adaptive approaches.