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An ecologically inspired optimization algorithm, called invasive weed optimization (IWO), is presented for the design of non-uniform, planar, and circular antenna arrays that can achieve minimum side lobe levels for a specific first null beamwidth while avoiding the mutual coupling effects simultaneously. IWO recently emerged as a derivative-free real parameter optimizer that mimics the ecological behavior of colonizing weeds. For the present application, classical IWO has been modified by introducing a more explorative routine of changing the standard deviation of the seed population (equivalent to mutation step-size in evolutionary algorithms) of the algorithm. Simulation results over three significant instances of the circular array design problem have been presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the modified IWO algorithm. The design results obtained with modified IWO have been shown to comfortably beat …