Experimental Verification of the Control Circuit Encoding Technique for calibration of Phased Array Antennas

摘要

The control circuit encoding (CCE) technique [1,2] has been proposed as a method of remotely calibrating a phased array antenna. This patented technique uses an orthogonal coding scheme to measure the amplitude and phase of all array elements simultaneously. The capacity to measure all elements simultaneously is more efficient than single element measurements since measurement time is minimized. This paper describes an experimental verification of the CCE technique. Accurate control of amplitude and phase distribution in an array is important because it allows for low sidelobe array designs that can be maintained over the life cycle of the system. Also discussed is our method for estimating statistics of calibration performance usign a stepped null approach. The results demonstrate that the CCE method is a viable approach for calibrating a phased array.