A Fast and Accurate Multi-Element Calibration Algorithm of an Active Phased Antenna Array

Abstract

In this paper, a simple and fast calibration algorithm is proposed for an active phased antenna array measurement of the amplitude and phase of all the antenna elements. Euler's numerical method is used to simultaneously measure and calibrate the array element's electric field and array factor. Each element's phase shifts are periodically varied with a reference state through a feedback to the amplitude and phase calibration units, and their variations are calculated and analyzed for signal calibration. The method is theoretically studied using numerical simulations providing accurate performance and a very low tolerance to errors. This method provides a multiple element far field calibration technique applicable to radar, satellite, and wireless communication.

Development of the Phaseless Calibration Algorithm for a Digital Antenna Array

“…It is necessary to highlight the antenna calibration based on the rotating element electric field vector (REV) method [42]. These are the most common algorithms when the sum signal of all array channels, except the one being calibrated, is used as a reference [43][44][45][46][47][48]. Their significant drawback is the large number of measurements required to achieve acceptable accuracy.…”