Efficient wideband phased antenna array using true time delays and interpolation

A wireless front-end includes a phased antenna array [400], a weighting factor computation circuit [434], and hybrid time delays including a set of variable true time delays [420,422] and a set of phase-shifting interpolators [418] that interpolate between the true time delays using weighting factors computed by the weighting factor computation circuit [434], where the weighting factor computation circuit uses non-orthogonal base vectors to compute the weighting factors. The phase-shifting interpolators [418] may be implemented using signal splitters [410], weighting multipliers [412], and signal combiners [414]. The weighting multipliers [412] may be implemented using variable gain amplifiers, variable attenuators, or switched resistor networks. The number of variable true time delays [420,422] is preferably less than half the number of antenna elements in the phased antenna array [400]. In the case were the phased antenna array is a linear array, the number of variable true time delays may be just one. In the case where the phased antenna array is a 2-dimensional array, the number of variable true time delays may be just two, but preferably three.