Non-Regular Array solutions assessed from industrial point of view

We review 4 different methods1 to build non-regular arrays, optimised to generate reconfigurable multibeam coverages from telecommunication satellites: thinning / starting from a regular lattice and gathering radiating elements into subarrays with various sizes and shapes / aperiodic lattice (daisy or sunflower like) / overlapped subarrays. For each method we present the main advantages and drawbacks, when compared to a classical array with a regular lattice; our criteria are the amount of decrease in the number of active chains, for similar directivity and isolation performances, and the industrial feasibility. More detailed results, justifying the conclusions, will be presented at the EuCAP 2014 conference.