An alternative approach to linearly constrained adaptive beamforming

Abstract

A beamforming structure is presented which can be used to implement a wide variety of linearly constrained adaptive array processors. The structure is designed for use with arrays which have been time-delay steered such that the desired signal of interest appears approximately in phase at the steered outputs. One major advantage of the new structure is the constraints can be implemented using simple hardware differencing amplifiers. The structure is shown to incorporate algorithms which have been suggested previously for use in adaptive beamforming as well as to include new approaches. It is also particularly useful for studying the effects of steering errors on array performance. Numerical examples illustrating the performance of the structure are presented.