ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES OF ERRORS IN THE AMPLITUDE-PHASE DISTRIBUTION OF LINEAR PHASED ANTENNA ARRAYS AND METHODS FOR THEIR REDUCTION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18522/2311-3103-2026-1-%25pKeywords:
Phased antenna array, calibration of phased antenna array, determination of amplitude-phase distribution, measurement of characteristics of phased antenna array, operation of phased antenna array, evolutionary algorithms, genetic algorithmAbstract
To use a phased array antenna in the beamforming mode, it is necessary to establish a certain amplitude-phase distribution at the inputs of the emitting elements. Amplitude and phase errors distort the radiation pattern. The paper analyzes the sources of errors in the amplitude-phase distribution of phased antenna arrays, including parasitic phase shifts, nonlinear amplification paths, temperature instability and mutual electromagnetic coupling between the elements. Three methods of calibration and adjustment of phased antenna arrays are described, based on direct measurements of the transmission coefficients in the near zone and the subsequent calculation of the impact vector using inverse and pseudo-inverse matrices of mutual connections, which provides a systematic approach to error elimination. To obtain the initial values, each channel was pre-calibrated along a closed path using a vector network analyzer. Technique 1 implements correction for a set of points in space and one set of states of each channel. To increase the stability of the solution, method 2 uses the regularization of the elements of the matrix of interconnections based on an additional set of measured states of each channel. Method 3 makes it possible to construct a mathematical model of a specific implementation of a phased array antenna based on measurements with a fixed channel state, which ensures the formation of an arbitrary amplitude-phase state without repeated measurements. An experimental setup of an eight-element equidistant linear phased array antenna was carried out. The lattice attenuator/phase shifter modules are based on the PE44820 phase shifter and PE4302 attenuator debugging boards and are controlled by a microcontroller to automatically change phases and amplitudes. The measurements were carried out automatically on a near-field stand in an anechoic shielded chamber using a vector network analyzer. Calibration results are presented, matrices of mutual relationships are constructed and radiation patterns are formed, confirming the operability of the proposed approaches. Since the experimental array is low-element, the results of applying the considered techniques are compared with the results of tuning in the far zone performed using an evolutionary algorithm.
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