Hybrid Intelligent Nonlinear Optimization for FDA-MIMO Passive Microwave Arrays Radar on Static Platforms

Micromachines (Basel). 2025 Dec 25;17(1):27. doi: 10.3390/mi17010027.

Abstract

Microwave, millimeter-wave, and terahertz devices are fundamental to modern 5G/6G communications, automotive imaging radar, and sensing systems. As essential RF front-end elements, passive microwave array components on static platforms remain constrained by fixed geometry and single-frequency excitation, leading to limited spatial resolution and weak interference suppression. Phase-steered arrays offer angular control but lack range-dependent response, preventing true two-dimensional focusing. Frequency-Diverse Array Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (FDA-MIMO) architectures introduce element-wise frequency offsets to enrich spatial-spectral degrees of freedom, yet conventional linear or predetermined nonlinear offsets cause range-angle coupling, periodic lobes, and restricted beamforming flexibility. Existing optimization strategies also tend to target single objectives and insufficiently address target- or scene-induced perturbations. This work proposes a nonlinear frequency-offset design for passive microwave arrays using a Dingo-Gray Wolf hybrid intelligent optimizer. A multi-metric fitness function simultaneously enforces sidelobe suppression, null shaping, and frequency-offset smoothness. Simulations in static scenarios show that the method achieves high-resolution two-dimensional focusing, enhanced interference suppression, and stable performance under realistic spatial-spectral mismatches. The results demonstrate an effective approach for improving the controllability and robustness of passive microwave array components on static platforms.

Keywords: FDA-MIMO; hybrid intelligent optimization; interference suppression; nonlinear frequency offsets; passive microwave arrays; two-dimensional beam focusing.