Calibration of phased array antenna with the minimum point finding method of the array factor

Abstract

The problem of phased array antenna calibration with the minimum point finding method of the array factor is investigated. A mathematical model of the minimum point finding method is presented. Then, the proposed method is applied to the phased array antenna and compared with the traditional rotating-element electric-field vectors method. Experimental verification of the mathematical model of the proposed method showed the following: the minimum point finding method determines the phase shift more accurately than the maximum point finding method of the array factor; the proposed method showed a better detection range per phase change corresponding to a 35 dB higher resolution. The error ranges of the minimum and the maximum point finding methods were 50 and 700 , respectively. The peak of the combined beam when using the minimum point finding method is higher than the maximum point finding method which is 3.7 ... 4.1 dB. One can use the research results in large-scale phased array antenna calibration systems during the production phase.