This paper presents a novel effective calibration technique applicable to phased array radars. The real embedded patterns of the array elements are measured independently in operating mode, taking antenna coupling and other parasitic effects into account. The proposed calibration technique requires minimal modification of the radar hardware. A set of angular-dependent error coefficients, which are compensated during the calibration process, are extracted for one received pulse for one/each angular direction of interest. The performance and effectiveness of the hereproposed calibration technique are assessed by means of modeling and experimental verification.
2. Hansen, R. C., Phased Array Antennas, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2009.
doi:10.1002/9780470529188
3. Caratelli, D. and M. C. Viganó, "Analytical synthesis technique for linear uniform-amplitude sparse arrays," Radio Science, Vol. 46, No. 4, RS4001, Aug. 2011.
doi:10.1029/2010RS004522
4. Caratelli, D. and M. C. Viganó, "A novel deterministic synthesis technique for constrained sparse array design problems," IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 59, No. 11, 4085-4093, Nov. 2011.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2011.2164193
5. Gupta, I. J. and A. K. Ksienski, "Effect of mutual coupling on the performance of adaptive arrays," IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 31, 785-791, May 1983.
doi:10.1109/TAP.1983.1143128
6. Babur, G., P. Aubry, and F. Le Chevalier, "Antenna coupling effects for space-time radar waveforms: analysis and calibration," IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 62, No. 5, 2572-2586, 2014.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2014.2309111
7. Tyler, N., B. Allen, and H. Aghvami, "Adaptive antennas: The calibration problem," IEEE Commun. Mag., Vol. 42, No. 12, 114-122, 2004.
doi:10.1109/MCOM.2004.1367563
8. Sorace, R., "Phased array calibration," IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 49, No. 4, 517-525, 2001.
doi:10.1109/8.923310
9. Tsoulos, G. and M. Beach, "Calibration and linearity issues for and adaptive antenna system," IEEE Vehicular Tech. Conf., Vol. 3, 1596-1600, May 1997.
10. Seker, I., "Calibration methods for phased array radars," Proc. of SPIE, Vol. 8714, 2013, Available at: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/on 09/08/2013.
11. Huang, Z. and C. A. Balanis, "Mutual coupling compensation in UCAs: Simulations and experiement," IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 54, 3082-3086, Nov. 2006.
12. Babur, G., P. Aubry, and F. Le Chevalier, "Space-time radar waveforms: Circulating codes," Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vol. 2013, Article ID 809691, 8 pages, 2013.
13. Antonik, P., et al., "Frequency diverse array radars," Proc. IEEE Radar Conf. Dig., 215-217, Verona, NY, USA, 2006.
14. Longbrake, M., "True time-delay beamsteering for radar," Proc. of the IEEE National Aerospace and Electronics Conference (NAECON'12), 246-249, Dayton, USA, 2012.
15. Alfred, Q. M., T. Chakravarty, and S. K. Sanyal, "A novel schematic for calibration of large phased array antenna using programmable time-delay units," Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 65, 81-91, 2006.
doi:10.2528/PIER06080301
Submit
