A NOVEL SCHEMATIC FOR CALIBRATION OF LARGE PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA USING PROGRAMMABLE TIME-DELAY UNITS

Abstract

In this paper, a conceptual schematic for calibration of large phased array antenna is presented. Derived from an earlier work by the authors, the presentation demonstrates a simple yet innovative schematic of inserting time delay units with each element in the array which can be used to generate both SUM and DIFFERENCE pattern. Both these patterns are electronically steerable. The calibration is done using SUM-DIFFERENCE pattern. PIN switches are used to insert proper time delay units. Thus the schematic is completely programmable using a microcontroller to control the insertion of time delay. The details of the schematic is presented along with the generated antenna patterns.