Phased Array BEAMFORMING: The First Step

Side lobes in a phased array can cause unwanted interference and distort signals—but what if we could control them?

In this video, we explore how tapering (or windowing) helps shape the array factor, reducing side lobes at the cost of widening the main lobe. Using animations, we break down the connection between Fourier transforms, spatial sampling, and phased array beamforming.

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Website: https://marshallbruner.com/

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Resources:
Python notebook where you can play around with these concepts (tapering.ipynb) - https://tinyurl.com/tapering-nb
All code for this video - https://tinyurl.com/github-videos

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References:
1. Discrete-Time Signal Processing - Oppenheim (book) - https://tinyurl.com/oppenheim-discret...
2. Robert Mailloux, Phased Array Antenna Handbook, Third Edition , Artech, 2017. (book) - https://tinyurl.com/mailloux-book
3. Phased Array Antenna Patterns—Part 1: Linear Array Beam Characteristics and Array Factor - Analog Devices (article) - https://tinyurl.com/adi-phased-arrays...
4. Exploring RF Beamforming: A Practical Hardware Approach - Jon Kraft (video) - https://tinyurl.com/jon-beamforming-v...
5. Adaptive Antennas and Phased Arrays — Online Course - MIT LL (course slides) - https://tinyurl.com/mit-phased-arrays
6. Mathwork's incredible video series on phased arrays (video) - https://tinyurl.com/mathworks-phased-...

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All animations shown were created using Manim Community (https://docs.manim.community/en/stabl...) - a Python animation library written by 3Blue1Brown (   / @3blue1brown  ) and maintained by the community. Huge thanks to everyone working on this incredible project!

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Timestamps:
0:00 - Where does the sinc come from?
3:15 - The Anatomy of an Array Factor
3:51 - Why do we care?
4:40 - The Solution
6:33 - Hardware Implementation
8:17 - Huge Announcement!