Method and apparatus for reconfiguring a photonic TR beacon

摘要

A system and method for recalibrating a beacon for illuminating an antenna array, the system including an adjustable beacon configured to illuminate at least a portion of an array of antenna elements with a beacon signal, an element locator coupled to the antenna elements and configured to determine a location of a test element of the antenna elements with respect to a reference element of the antenna elements using RF phase sensing based upon the beacon signal as perceived by the test element and the reference element, a beam steering unit coupled between the adjustable beacon and the element locator and configured to cause the adjustable beacon to produce an adjusted beacon signal corresponding to the determined location of the test element and an antenna signal-to-noise ratio perceived by the beam steering unit, a photo-responsive element coupled to the adjustable beacon and configured to power the adjustable beacon, and a light source configured to illuminate the photo-responsive element.