  In this paper, we present a hybrid of Evolutionary Programming (EP) and
Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms for numerically efficient global
optimization of antenna arrays and metasurfaces. The hybrid EP-PSO algorithm
uses an evolutionary optimization approach that incorporates swarm directions
in the standard self-adaptive EP algorithm. As examples, we have applied this
hybrid technique to two antenna problems: the side-lobe-level reduction of a
non-uniform spaced (aperiodic) linear array and the beam shaping of a printed
antenna loaded with a partially reflective metasurface. Detailed comparisons
between the proposed hybrid EP-PSO technique and EP-only and PSO-only
techniques are given, demonstrating the efficiency of this hybrid technique in
the complex antenna design problems.
