Method, apparatus and system for measuring total radiation power of an array antenna

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention discloses a method, device, and system for measuring the total radiated power of an array antenna. The method includes: determining the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space, and setting the step grid spacing of the sampling points according to the Rayleigh resolution; determining the sampling points according to the step grid spacing, measuring the equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) at the positions of the sampling points, and determining the total radiated power (TRP) according to the EIRP. Compared with the traditional test method with an angular step grid θ grid of 15°, the embodiment of the present invention reduces the measurement error; in addition, through the normalized wave vector space conversion, the number of sampling points is further reduced, and the measurement efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and particularly to a method, apparatus, and system for measuring the total radiated power (TRP) of an array antenna. Background Art

[0002] With the increasing demand for higher-quality, higher-definition, and faster-response content, the 5th-Generation (5G) mobile communication technology has emerged. It includes a number of new technologies, such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (Massive-MIMO), beamforming technology, and millimeter-wave communication. Among them, millimeter-wave communication technology mainly refers to the communication technology that uses electromagnetic waves with a wavelength in the millimeter range (frequency of 30 GHz to 300 GHz) as the carrier for the base station to access the network. The introduction of millimeter-wave technology has reduced the oscillator size to the millimeter level, and the massive array antenna technology has been widely applied in 5G communication products. Successful application cases have been achieved with the number of oscillator units in the array antenna ranging from 128 to 256, and even 512. The millimeter-wave circuit design and the application of massive array antennas require the integration of the active antenna system (AAS) and the radio remote unit (RRU).

[0003] A standard TS38.104 in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) stipulates that the millimeter-wave AAS integrated base station belongs to type 2-O 5G equipment, and its radio frequency indicators must be measured in a millimeter-wave anechoic chamber through the over-the-air (OTA) method. Among them, the base station TRP is a key OTA test item; it is the basis for measuring multiple radio frequency indicators such as the base station output power, spurious emissions, and adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR).

[0004] In the traditional TRP measurement in the low-frequency band (Sub 6 GHz), the specifications of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) in the United States and the Chinese communication industry standard YD / T 1484 stipulate that the angular step grid θ grid 、 is 15°. However, for millimeter-wave massive array antenna base stations, this test specification will result in relatively large measurement errors. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, apparatus, and system for measuring the TRP of an array antenna to reduce measurement errors.

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for measuring the total radiated power (TRP) of an array antenna, including:

[0007] Determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space, and set the step grid spacing of the sampling points according to the Rayleigh resolution;

[0008] Determine the sampling points according to the step grid spacing, measure the Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) at the positions of the sampling points, and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0009] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a device for measuring the total radiated power (TRP) of an array antenna, including:

[0010] A step grid spacing setting module, configured to determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space, and set the step grid spacing of the sampling points according to the Rayleigh resolution;

[0011] A TRP determination module, configured to determine the sampling points according to the step grid spacing, measure the Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power EIRP at the positions of the sampling points, and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a system for measuring the total radiated power (TRP) of an array antenna, including: a device under test fixed on a turntable, a test antenna system, a power detector, and a tester. Wherein, the device under test includes an array antenna and a remote radio frequency unit integrated together, the power detector is connected to the test antenna system, and the tester is respectively connected to the device under test, the turntable, the test antenna system, and the power detector;

[0013] The tester is configured to: determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space, and set the step grid spacing of the sampling points according to the Rayleigh resolution; and, determine the sampling points according to the step grid spacing, and control the device under test, the turntable, the test antenna system, and the power detector to measure the Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power EIRP at the positions of the sampling points, and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0014] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for measuring the total radiated power (TRP) of an array antenna, including:

[0015] Determine the grid spacing of the sampling points in the normalized wave vector space of the array antenna;

[0016] Determine the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing;

[0017] Determine the corresponding non-uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space;

[0018] Measure the EIRP at the positions of non-uniform sampling points in the spherical coordinate system in the angular space, and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0019] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a measurement device for the total radiated power TRP of an array antenna, including:

[0020] A grid spacing determination module for determining the grid spacing of sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space;

[0021] A uniform sampling point determination module for determining uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing;

[0022] A non-uniform sampling point determination module for determining corresponding non-uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space;

[0023] A TRP determination module for measuring the EIRP at the positions of non-uniform sampling points in the spherical coordinate system in the angular space, and determining the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0024] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a measurement system for the total radiated power TRP of an array antenna, including: a device under test fixed on a turntable, a test antenna system, a power detector, and a tester. Among them, the device under test includes an array antenna and a remote radio frequency unit integrated together. The power detector is connected to the test antenna system, and the tester is respectively connected to the device under test, the turntable, the test antenna system, and the power detector;

[0025] The tester is used for: determining the grid spacing of sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space; determining uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing; determining corresponding non-uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space; controlling the device under test, the turntable, the test antenna system, and the power detector to measure the EIRP at the positions of non-uniform sampling points in the spherical coordinate system in the angular space, and determining the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0026] An embodiment of the present invention, compared with the traditional test method with an angular step grid θ grid , of 15°, reduces the measurement error; in addition, through the conversion of the normalized wave vector space, the number of sampling points is further reduced, and the measurement efficiency is improved.

[0027] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the following description, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention. The objectives and other advantages of the present invention can be realized and obtained by the structure particularly pointed out in the description, claims and drawings. Description of the Drawings

[0028] The drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solution of the present invention, and constitute a part of the description. Together with the embodiments of the present application, they are used to explain the technical solution of the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solution of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 1 is an 8×16 oscillator array θ grid , When taking a 15° scanning interval, θ, When the initial scanning angle changes, a large fluctuation appears in the calculated TRP value.

[0030] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the test system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 3 is the spatial coordinate system of the test environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 4 (a) is a schematic diagram of a regular rectangular oscillator array.

[0033] Figure 4 (b) and (c) are schematic diagrams of irregular arrays.

[0034] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a method for measuring the TRP of an array antenna adopting a uniform sampling scheme according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a measuring device for the TRP of an array antenna adopting a uniform sampling scheme according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 7 (a) and (b) are two-dimensional plane expansions of the experimental antenna simulation three-dimensional radiation pattern in the angular space.

[0037] Figure 8 is a flowchart of a method for measuring the TRP of an array antenna adopting a non-uniform sampling scheme according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a measuring device for the TRP of an array antenna adopting a non-uniform sampling scheme according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 10(a) and (b) are the two-dimensional plane expansions of the experimental antenna simulation three-dimensional radiation patterns in the normalized wave vector space.

[0040] Figure 11 is the flow chart of the measurement method of the TRP of the array antenna adopting the uniform sampling scheme in the application example of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 12 is the flow chart of the measurement method of the TRP of the array antenna adopting the non-uniform sampling scheme in the application example of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 13 is the θ of the 8×16 oscillator array grid , When the value of θ ranges from 1° to 30°, the error of calculating TRP is in θ grid , distribution diagrams in two dimensions. Detailed implementation manners

[0043] In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other arbitrarily.

[0044] The steps shown in the flow chart of the drawings can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer executable instructions. And, although the logical order is shown in the flow chart, in some cases, the steps shown or described can be executed in a different order than here.

[0045] Currently, to measure TRP, it can be measured in a millimeter-wave anechoic chamber with the help of a three-dimensional turntable. The steps are as follows: The Equipment Under Test (EUT) is fixed on the turntable, and the Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of the EUT is measured by a receiving probe at the far field. In the spherical coordinate system, the EIRP distribution of the antenna spherical field is measured by the conical tangent method or the great circle tangent method. Finally, the TRP is calculated with reference to the following formula (quoted from 3GPP TS37.843):

[0046]

[0047] According to formula (1), the calculation of TRP is based on N×M times of EIRP measurements. The values of N and M depend on the step grids of θ and :

[0048]

[0049] In traditional low-frequency band (Sub 6GHz) TRP measurement, the American CTIA specification and the Chinese communication industry standard YD / T 1484 stipulate that the angular step grid θ grid 、 is 15°.

[0050] Taking the relatively mature 128-element (8×16 arrangement) array antenna as an example, the transmitted signal is 30GHz, and the spherical measurement step grid θ grid 、 are each 15°. According to the traditional scheme (i.e., the YD / T 1484 measurement steps), the TRP is tested. To quantitatively observe the measurement error, the initial position of the spherical measurement EIRP is changed from 1° to 15°, and referring to Figure 1 , the change curve of the final measured value of TRP relative to the true value is obtained. The element spacing of the array antenna is 0.5λ, and the abscissa refers to the scanning starting point position. This traditional 15° scanning interval is usually applied to sub 6GHz terminal devices. It can be seen from Figure 1 that when this 15° scanning interval is adopted, the calculated TRP results fluctuate by about 14dB with the change of the starting point position. The main reason is that the first null beamwidth (FNBW) of the millimeter-wave array antenna is less than that of the traditional Sub 6GHz antenna beam. For the spherical energy density space of the millimeter-wave base station antenna sampled at an angular grid of 15°, the measurement results will be distorted. Therefore, the 15° scanning interval can no longer accurately reflect the TRP value, and it is necessary to increase the number of points and improve the scanning density.

[0051] Since the traditional 15° scanning interval TRP test scheme cannot be effectively applied to the measurement of the TRP of the millimeter-wave array antenna, people need to upgrade the traditional test scheme and even design a new test scheme to deal with this situation.

[0052] The TRP measurement technology of the millimeter-wave large-scale array antenna is still under research. The conventional schemes adopted by current well-known millimeter-wave anechoic chambers (such as Keysight Technologies in the United States, MVG in France, etc.) are to measure the EIRP with a step of θ grid 、 not greater than 1° to obtain a fine three-dimensional radiation pattern, and then calculate the TRP. However, this method theoretically requires at least 360×180 measurements, and the efficiency is not high.

[0053] In short, the traditional 15° grid of the TRP algorithm is no longer applicable to the measurement of the total radiation power of the 5G base station millimeter-wave array antenna. And the current conventional scheme with a step of about 1° in the anechoic chamber will result in too many sampling points and low measurement efficiency.

[0054] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method, device, and system for measuring the TRP of an array antenna, which can reduce measurement errors and improve measurement efficiency.

[0055] The test environment is described below.

[0056] Generally, according to a representative embodiment, a microwave anechoic chamber can be used to perform a complete far-field characterization of an EUT (such as including a transmit and receive chain) with a millimeter-wave array antenna. In addition, at least one test antenna, a receive link, and a detection device can be used to test the radiation energy distribution.

[0057] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of an anechoic chamber OTA test system for measuring the TRP of a millimeter-wave AAS device according to a representative embodiment.

[0058] Reference Figure 2 , the system 200 is configured to measure the TRP of the EUT 210, which includes a remote radio unit RRU211 and an array antenna 212. The array antenna 212 is tightly integrated with the RRU211 to form an integrated device, as shown by the dashed line. Contrary to a separately and independently measurable RRU and antenna system, the transmit and receive channels of the EUT 210 are directly connected to the array antenna 212 unit. In the described embodiment, the array antenna 212 can be an antenna arranged in a matrix type or other non-regularly arranged antennas, and the radiated electromagnetic wave energy can be in the millimeter-wave band.

[0059] Since the array antenna 212 is integrated with the RRU211 and there is no RF connection, the array antenna cannot be tested in isolation. That is to say, it is not possible to simply test the radiation performance of the array antenna 212 and the transmit and receive link performance of the RRU211 to calculate RF whole-device indicators such as EIRP, TRP, equivalent isotropic radiated sensitivity (EIRS), and total isotropic sensitivity (TIS). The measurement of the EUT 210 needs to be carried out simultaneously.

[0060] The EUT210 is placed and fixed on a turntable 220, and the turntable 220 can rotate in the horizontal plane and the pitch plane.

[0061] The test antenna system 230 includes a test antenna 231, an antenna fixing bracket 232, and a test cable 233. The test antenna 231 can be a single antenna or multiple antennas. The antenna fixing bracket 232 is used to fix the test antenna 231 and can move in three-dimensional space. The test antenna 231 is connected to a power detector 240 through the test cable 233, and the power detector 240 can be a vector network analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a power meter, etc.

[0062] The EUT 210, turntable 220, antenna fixing bracket 232, and power detector 240 are connected to the test machine 250, which can be used to control the transceiver of the EUT 210, the rotation of the turntable 220, the movement of the antenna fixing bracket 232, and the transceiver of the power detector 240, record and process relevant test data including the EIRP value, and record the log.

[0063] During the entire test process, the anechoic chamber environment is isolated from the external environment by the absorbing material 260 and the outer wall of the anechoic chamber 270 to simulate the situation of an infinite space.

[0064] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the coordinate system with the array antenna 212 on the EUT 210 as the reference point according to a representative embodiment. Among them, the x-axis is basically consistent with the normal direction of the antenna array plane, and the y-axis and z-axis correspond to the horizontal and vertical directions respectively. Two types of spatial coordinates are used here to describe the direction. One is the angular space, that is, using the in the spherical coordinate system to represent. For example, when the wave vector direction is calibrated as (90°, 0°), it means pointing in the x-axis direction. The other is the normalized wave vector space, which is represented by (K y , K z ) in the Cartesian coordinate system, where K y and K z respectively represent the magnitudes of the normalized wave vector projected on the y-axis and z-axis. For example, when the wave vector direction is calibrated as (0, 0), it means pointing in the x-axis direction. There is a spatial transformation relationship between the angular space and the normalized wave vector space (K y , K z ).

[0065] Figure 4 It is several arrangement situations of the array elements in the array antenna 212 according to a representative embodiment. Figure 4 (a) shows the case of a common rectangular array. In the rectangular array, the element spacing is d, and the element is generally a square with side length a. The side lengths of the rectangular array in the y-direction and z-direction are D y and D z . Since the element spacing d is generally λ / 2 and the side length a is not greater than the element spacing d, for an M×N array, the side length D y ≈Nλ / 2 and D z ≈Mλ / 2. Taking an 8×16 array antenna as an example, the antenna size can be expressed as D y ≈8λ and D z ≈4λ. The far-field pattern of the array antenna is approximately the Fourier transform of the array antenna shape. Therefore, according to the Nyquist sampling theorem, as long as the sampling interval in the θ direction and direction is less than the Rayleigh resolution, that is, sin-1 (λ / D y ) and sin -1 (λ / D z ), discrete sampling hardly loses the array information. With this sampling interval, the integrated TRP value can represent the true TRP value of this rectangular array.

[0066] Figure 4 (b) shows the case of a Z-shaped array. Although this shape is irregular and the corresponding radiation pattern lacks obvious regularity, this shape can be regarded as a D y ×D z rectangular array with some units in the upper right corner and lower left corner removed, where D y and D z can be considered as the maximum dimensions of the Z-shaped array in the y-direction and z-direction. Therefore, according to the Nyquist sampling theorem, when the sampling interval on the radiation pattern is less than the Rayleigh resolution corresponding to D y and D z , discrete sampling hardly loses the information of this equivalent rectangular array, and thus also hardly loses the information of this Z-shaped array. With this sampling interval, the integrated TRP value can represent the true TRP value of this Z-shaped array.

[0067] Figure 4 (c) shows the case of an O-shaped array. The radiation pattern corresponding to this shape tends to be an Airy disk. Similarly, this shape can also be regarded as a D y ×D z rectangular array with some units around it removed. Therefore, according to the Nyquist sampling theorem, when the sampling interval on the radiation pattern is less than the Rayleigh resolution corresponding to D y and D z , discrete sampling hardly loses the information of this equivalent rectangular array, and thus also hardly loses the information of this O-shaped array. With this sampling interval, the integrated TRP value can represent the true TRP value of this O-shaped array.

[0068] From the above three examples, it can be analyzed that for arrays with irregular shapes, they can all be regarded as rectangular arrays. The side lengths of this rectangular array in the y-direction and z-direction are the maximum dimensions of the irregular-shaped array in the y-direction and z-direction. As long as the sampling interval does not lose the information of this rectangular array, the integrated TRP value can reflect the true value of the true TRP. Therefore, in the following discussions, we only consider the case of rectangular arrays.

[0069] In the embodiments of the present invention, two sampling schemes are proposed: one is a sampling scheme with equal angular spacing in the angular space, which is called the uniform sampling scheme; the other is a sampling scheme with equal spacing in the normalized wave vector space. Since this sampling method shows unequal spacing in the angular space, it can be called the non-uniform sampling scheme.

[0070] The following separately describes the two schemes.

[0071] I. Uniform sampling scheme:

[0072] The uniform sampling scheme samples the EIRP in the traditional angular space and then calculates the TRP. The uniform sampling scheme avoids the situation of excessive errors in measuring the TRP of millimeter-wave array antennas in the traditional test specifications (YD / T 1484 standard and CTIA specification).

[0073] As Figure 5 shown, the method for measuring the TRP of an array antenna adopting the uniform sampling scheme in the embodiments of the present invention includes:

[0074] Step 501: Determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space, and set the step grid spacing of the sampling points according to the Rayleigh resolution.

[0075] Among them, different methods can be adopted to determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to whether the array size of the array antenna is known.

[0076] (1) The array size of the array antenna is known:

[0077] Determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna.

[0078] In an embodiment, the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space is determined according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna in the following manner:

[0079]

[0080] Where θ r and are the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the spherical coordinate system θ and directions respectively, D y , D z are the maximum antenna apertures of the array antenna in the horizontal and vertical directions respectively, and λ is the signal wavelength.

[0081] When θ r , takes relatively small values, the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space can also be determined according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna in the following manner:

[0082]

[0083] (2) The array size of the array antenna is unknown:

[0084] Determine the first null beamwidth FNBW, and determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the FNBW.

[0085] Among them, for the case where the antenna array size cannot be accurately known (such as a base station device whose antenna cover is not easy to open), the FNBW of the main beam can be measured on the elevation plane and the azimuth plane of the spherical coordinate system including the maximum radiation power point.

[0086] In one embodiment, the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space is determined according to the FNBW in the following manner:

[0087]

[0088] Where θ r and are the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the θ and directions of the spherical coordinate system respectively, FNBW θ and are the FNBWs of the radiation patterns on the elevation plane and the azimuth plane of the spherical coordinate system respectively.

[0089] Step 502, determine the sampling points according to the step grid spacing, measure the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP at the positions of the sampling points, and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0090] In one embodiment, set the step grid spacing of the sampling points to be less than or equal to the Rayleigh resolution.

[0091] That is to say, the sampling step spacing should not be greater than the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the θ and directions of the spherical coordinate system Namely: θ grid ≤θ r ,

[0092] In practical applications, the step grid spacing of the sampling points can be set equal to the Rayleigh resolution.

[0093] The determination of the TRP according to the EIRP can calculate the TRP in the manner of formula (1).

[0094] In addition, for high-frequency 5G base stations, the output signal power of their millimeter-wave large-scale array antennas is basically concentrated in the first half of the spherical surface including the main beam, and the backward radiation is relatively small, and its contribution to the TRP can be ignored. Therefore, the back hemisphere is no longer valued.

[0095] Therefore, in one embodiment, formula (1) is slightly modified as follows:

[0096]

[0097] Wherein, θ grid and are the step grid spacings in the θ and directions of the spherical coordinate system respectively.

[0098] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present invention, to determine the TRP according to the EIRP, formula (1) and formula (4) can be used but are not limited to them. For example, formula (1) or formula (4) can be transformed, and different coordinate systems can be used for representation, etc.

[0099] Adopting the uniform sampling scheme of the embodiments of the present invention can improve the calculation accuracy compared with the traditional scheme: taking an array antenna with 128 oscillators (8×16 arrangement) as an example, when transmitting a millimeter-wave signal of 30 GHz, according to the traditional algorithm with a step grid of 15°, when the initial angle of the turntable in the anechoic chamber changes, the calculation result of the TRP has an error fluctuation of more than 14 dB; if the array scale is larger, the error will increase. The uniform sampling scheme implemented in the present invention uses the Rayleigh resolution as the step grid, and the error fluctuation of the TRP does not exceed 0.15 dB under the same test stress.

[0100] Adopting the uniform sampling scheme of the embodiments of the present invention can improve the calculation efficiency compared with the conventional scheme: still taking an array antenna with 128 oscillators (8×16 arrangement) as an example, the current mainstream conventional measurement method in a millimeter-wave anechoic chamber is to use a 1° step grid for uniform sampling, and 32400 (180×180) sampling points are required to achieve a hemispherical scan; while using the angular space Rayleigh resolution for stepping, the number of sampling points does not exceed 338 (26×13), and the efficiency is increased by 95 times.

[0101] As Figure 6 shown, the measurement device for the total radiated power TRP of the array antenna according to the embodiments of the present invention includes:

[0102] A step grid spacing setting module 601, configured to determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space, and set the step grid spacing of the sampling points according to the Rayleigh resolution;

[0103] A TRP determination module 602, configured to determine the sampling points according to the step grid spacing, measure the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP at the positions of the sampling points, and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0104] In one embodiment, the step grid spacing setting module 601 is configured to:

[0105] Determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna; or

[0106] Determine the first null beamwidth FNBW, and determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the FNBW.

[0107] In one embodiment, the step grid spacing setting module 601 is configured to determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna in the following manner:

[0108] Or

[0109]

[0110] where θ r and are the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the spherical coordinate system θ and directions respectively, D y , D z are the maximum antenna apertures of the array antenna in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction respectively, and λ is the signal wavelength.

[0111] In one embodiment, the step grid spacing setting module 601 is configured to measure the FNBW of the main beam on the elevation plane and the azimuth plane of the spherical coordinate system including the maximum radiation power point.

[0112] In one embodiment, the step grid spacing setting module 601 is configured to determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the FNBW in the following manner:

[0113]

[0114] where θ r and are the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the spherical coordinate system θ and directions respectively, FNBW θ and are the FNBWs of the radiation patterns on the elevation plane and the azimuth plane of the spherical coordinate system respectively.

[0115] In one embodiment, the step grid spacing setting module 601 is configured to: set the step grid spacing of the sampling points to be less than or equal to the Rayleigh resolution.

[0116] In one embodiment, the TRP determination module 602 is configured to determine the TRP according to the EIRP in the following manner:

[0117]

[0118] wherein, θ grid and are the step grid spacings in the directions of the spherical coordinate system θ and respectively.

[0119] Compared with the traditional angular step grid θ grid and with a test method of 15°, the embodiment of the present invention reduces the measurement error; compared with the uniform sampling using a 1° step grid, the number of sampling points is reduced, and the measurement efficiency is improved.

[0120] Correspondingly, referring to Figure 2 , the measurement system of the total radiated power TRP of the array antenna according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: a device under test 210 fixed on a turntable 220, a test antenna system 230, a power detector 240, and a tester 250. Among them, the device under test 210 includes an array antenna 212 and a remote radio frequency unit 211 integrated together. The power detector 240 is connected to the test antenna system 230, and the tester 250 is respectively connected to the device under test 210, the turntable 220, the test antenna system 230, and the power detector 240;

[0121] The tester 250 is configured to: determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna 212 in the angular space, set the step grid spacing of the sampling points according to the Rayleigh resolution; and determine the sampling points according to the step grid spacing, and control the device under test 210, the turntable 220, the test antenna system 230, and the power detector 240 to measure the equivalent isotropic radiated power EIRP at the positions of the sampling points, and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0122] Figure 7 (a) and (b) are respectively a demonstration of the simulated radiation pattern and the uniform sampling scanning scheme of an 8×16 rectangular array 410 according to a representative embodiment. In this rectangular array, each unit has equal amplitude and is in phase, the element spacing d is λ / 2, and the element size D y ≈8λ and D z ≈4λ. This array antenna is parallel to the y-z plane, and the normal direction of the array plane is parallel to the x-axis. Figure 7 The two-dimensional radiation pattern in (a) shows the EIRP of this rectangular antenna in the angular space of the front hemisphere Distribution. The maximum EIRP value is located at (90°, 0), i.e., in the x-axis direction. Multiple contour lines with a 10 dB interval divide the radiation pattern into several regions. The depth of the color represents the magnitude of the EIRP value. The lighter the color, the larger the EIRP value; the darker the color, the smaller the EIRP value. In the two-dimensional radiation pattern, a grid composed of the darkest lines can be seen. These grid points and the dark curve lines forming the grid are exactly the null positions of the EIRP value.

[0123] At in the elevation plane, the first null beamwidth can be named FNBW θ , and it has a relationship with the antenna size D z , that is, FNBW θ / 2 = θ r = sin -1 (λ / D z ), where θ r = sin -1 (λ / D z ) can be called the Rayleigh resolution in the elevation plane. Similarly, in the azimuth plane at θ = 90°, the first null beamwidth can be named and where can be called the Rayleigh resolution in the azimuth plane. According to the Nyquist sampling theorem, when the intervals of the two-dimensional sampling grid in the azimuth plane and the elevation plane are less than the corresponding Rayleigh resolutions, that is, θ grid ≤ θ r and this sampling hardly destroys the array information and can be considered lossless sampling. Therefore, based on the above sampling, the calculated TRP value should conform to the true TRP value. This sampling scheme is called the uniform sampling scheme, just as Figure 7 (b) the "+" periodic array in the angular space radiation sampling diagram indicates. In Figure 7 (b) the sampling diagram, the values of θ grid and are the same as the corresponding Rayleigh resolutions respectively. Therefore, the sampling points include the first zero points in the elevation plane and the azimuth plane at θ = 90°. This is the most economical and fast one in the uniform sampling scheme.

[0124] II. Non-uniform sampling scheme:

[0125] The non-uniform sampling scheme introduces the concept of the normalized wave vector space. This scheme first obtains the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space and then calculates the non-uniform sampling points in the angular space through the transformation formula, achieving the compression of the number of sampling points.

[0126] In this scheme, in the normalized wave vector space (K y , Kz ) Uniform sampling within. The normalized wave vector space (K y , K z ) and the angular space The transformation relationship is:

[0127]

[0128] The non-uniform sampling scheme eliminates redundant sampling points through sampling in the normalized wave vector space, significantly reducing the number of sampling points. The test efficiency of the non-uniform sampling scheme is significantly improved compared to the uniform sampling scheme (the test efficiency of the former is more than three times that of the latter).

[0129] As Figure 8 shown, the method for measuring the TRP of an array antenna using the non-uniform sampling scheme in an embodiment of the present invention includes:

[0130] Step 801, determining the grid spacing K of the sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space grid,y , K grid,z .

[0131] In one embodiment, the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space is determined, and the grid spacing of the sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space is determined according to the Rayleigh resolution.

[0132] Among them, different methods can be used to determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space according to whether the array size of the array antenna is known.

[0133] (1) The array size of the array antenna is known:

[0134] The Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space is determined according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna.

[0135] In one embodiment, the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space is determined according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna in the following manner:

[0136] K yr = λ / D y , K zr = λ / D z (6)

[0137] Where K yr , K zr are the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the wave vector space, D y and D z are the maximum antenna apertures of the array antenna in the horizontal and vertical directions respectively, and λ is the signal wavelength.

[0138] (2) The array size of the array antenna is unknown:

[0139] Determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space, and convert the Rayleigh resolution in the angular space to the Rayleigh resolution in the wave vector space.

[0140] In one embodiment, determine the FNBW, and determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the FNBW.

[0141] Wherein, for the case where the size of the antenna array cannot be accurately known (such as a base station device with a difficult-to-open radome), the FNBW of the main beam can be measured on the elevation plane and the azimuth plane of the spherical coordinate system including the maximum radiation power point.

[0142] In one embodiment, determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the FNBW in the following manner:

[0143]

[0144] Where θ r and are the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the directions of θ and in the spherical coordinate system respectively, and FNBW θ and are the FNBWs of the radiation patterns on the elevation plane and the azimuth plane of the spherical coordinate system respectively.

[0145] In one embodiment, set the grid spacing of the sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space to be less than or equal to the Rayleigh resolution.

[0146] In the embodiment of the present invention, the grid spacing K grid , y , K grid,z , is not greater than the Rayleigh resolution K yr , K zr of the array antenna in the wave vector space.

[0147] In practical applications, the grid spacing of the sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space can be set to be equal to the Rayleigh resolution.

[0148] Step 802, determine the uniform sampling points (K ym , K zn ) in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing.

[0149] In one embodiment, uniformly sample in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacings K grid,y , K grid,z to obtain a set of discrete values, which form the vector sampling points of the normalized wave vector space

[0150] Select vector (K ym , K zn ) as the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space.

[0151] Step 803, determine the corresponding non-uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space

[0152] In one embodiment, through the transformation relationship between the normalized wave vector space (K y , K z ) and the angular space , determine the corresponding ym of the uniform sampling points (K zn ) in the normalized wave vector space in the angular space

[0153] Among them, through the transformation formula (5), find the corresponding ym of (K zn ) in the angular space where θ n and are non-uniformly distributed in the angular space.

[0154] Step 804, measure the EIRP at the positions of the non-uniform sampling points in the spherical coordinate system in the angular space , and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0155] In one embodiment, determine the TRP according to the EIRP in the following manner:

[0156]

[0157] where K grid,y and K grid,z are the grid spacings of the sampling points in the y direction and z direction in the normalized wave vector space respectively;

[0158] is the normalized wave vector of the sampling point, and the relationship refers to only taking the sampling points with a modulus less than 1 in , that is, screening with a modulus less than 1 is performed.

[0159] The elevation angle θ n and the azimuth angle are the discrete values in the angular space corresponding to the normalized wave vector discrete sampling points , that is, the discrete values in the angular space corresponding to the normalized wave vector discrete sampling points after the modulus less than 1 screening is completed.

[0160] For the EIRP at discrete sampling points in angular space Formula (7) can also be expressed in wave vector space. At this time, the parameters θ

[0161] and n and can be represented by the normalized wave vector K z = cosθ, and the components K in the y and z directions ym and K zn through the space transformation formula

[0162] Adopting the non-uniform sampling scheme of the embodiment of the present invention can improve the calculation accuracy compared with the traditional scheme: taking an array antenna with 128 oscillators (8×16 arrangement) as an example, when transmitting a millimeter-wave signal of 30 GHz, according to the traditional algorithm with a step grid of 15°, when the initial angle of the turntable in the anechoic chamber changes, the error fluctuation of the TRP calculation result exceeds 14 dB; if the array scale is larger, the error will increase. The error fluctuation of the non-uniform sampling algorithm implemented by the present invention does not exceed 0.3 dB.

[0163] Adopting the non-uniform sampling scheme of the embodiment of the present invention can improve the calculation efficiency compared with the conventional scheme: still taking an array antenna with 128 oscillators (8×16 arrangement) as an example, the current mainstream conventional measurement method in a millimeter-wave anechoic chamber is to use a uniform sampling with a 1° step grid, and 32400 (180×180) sampling points are required to achieve a hemispherical scan; while using the Rayleigh resolution in wave vector space for non-uniform sampling with steps, the number of sampling points does not exceed 93, and the efficiency is increased by 348 times.

[0164] As Figure 9 shown, the measurement device of the TRP of the array antenna with the non-uniform sampling scheme of the embodiment of the present invention includes:

[0165] A grid spacing determination module 901 for determining the grid spacing of the sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space;

[0166] A uniform sampling point determination module 902 for determining the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing;

[0167] A non-uniform sampling point determination module 903 for determining the corresponding non-uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space;

[0168] A TRP determination module 904 for measuring the EIRP at the positions of the non-uniform sampling points in the spherical coordinate system in the angular space and determining the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0169] In one embodiment, the grid spacing determination module 901 is configured to:

[0170] Determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space, and determine the grid spacing of the sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space according to the Rayleigh resolution.

[0171] In one embodiment, the grid spacing determination module 901 is configured to:

[0172] Determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna; or

[0173] Determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space, and convert the Rayleigh resolution in the angular space to the Rayleigh resolution in the wave vector space.

[0174] In one embodiment, the grid spacing determination module 901 is configured to determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna in the following manner:

[0175] K yr = λ / D y ,K zr = λ / D z

[0176] where K yr , K zr is the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space, D y and D z are the maximum antenna apertures of the array antenna in the horizontal and vertical directions respectively, and λ is the signal wavelength.

[0177] In one embodiment, the grid spacing determination module 901 is configured to:

[0178] Determine the first null beam width FNBW, and determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the FNBW.

[0179] In one embodiment, the grid spacing determination module 901 is configured to: Measure the FNBW of the main beam on the elevation and azimuth planes of the spherical coordinate system including the maximum radiation power point.

[0180] In one embodiment, the grid spacing determination module 901 is configured to determine the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the FNBW in the following manner:

[0181]

[0182] where θ r and are the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the spherical coordinate system θ and direction, FNBW θ and are the FNBWs of the radiation patterns in the elevation plane and the azimuth plane of the spherical coordinate system, respectively.

[0183] In one embodiment, the grid spacing determination module 901 is configured to:

[0184] Set the grid spacing of the sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space to be less than or equal to the Rayleigh resolution.

[0185] In one embodiment, the uniform sampling point determination module 902 is configured to:

[0186] According to the grid spacing K grid , y , K grid,z Perform uniform sampling in the normalized wave vector space to obtain a set of discrete values, which form the vector sampling points of the normalized wave vector space

[0187] Select vectors (K ym , K zn ) as the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space.

[0188] In one embodiment, the non-uniform sampling point determination module 903 is configured to:

[0189] Determine the corresponding y in the angular space of the uniform sampling points (K z ) in the normalized wave vector space through the transformation relationship between the normalized wave vector space (K ) and the angular space ym , K zn in the normalized wave vector space.

[0190] wherein the transformation relationship between the normalized wave vector space (K y , K z ) and the angular space is:

[0191]

[0192] In one embodiment, the TRP determination module 904 is configured to determine the TRP according to the EIRP in the following manner:

[0193]

[0194] where K grid,y and K grid,zare the grid spacings of the sampling points in the y - direction and z - direction in the normalized wave vector space, respectively;

[0195] is the normalized wave vector of the sampling point, and the elevation angle θ n and the azimuth angle are the discrete sampling points of the normalized wave vector The corresponding discrete values in the angular space, is the discrete sampling point in the angular space The EIRP at this point.

[0196] The above formula can also be expressed in the wave vector space. At this time, the parameters θ n and can be obtained through the space transformation formula K z = cosθ, and are represented by the components K of the normalized wave vector ym and K zn in the y - direction and z - direction.

[0197] The embodiment of the present invention, compared with the traditional angular step grid θ grid , with a test method of 15°, reduces the measurement error; compared with the uniform sampling using a 1° step grid, it reduces the number of sampling points and improves the measurement efficiency.

[0198] Correspondingly, referring to Figure 2 , the measurement system of the total radiation power TRP of the array antenna in the embodiment of the present invention includes: the device under test 210 fixed on the turntable 220, the test antenna system 230, the power detector 240, and the tester 250. Among them, the device under test 210 includes an integrated array antenna 212 and a remote radio unit 211. The power detector 240 is connected to the test antenna system 230, and the tester 250 is respectively connected to the device under test 210, the turntable 220, the test antenna system 230, and the power detector 240;

[0199] The tester 250 is used for: determining the grid spacing of the sampling points of the array antenna 212 in the normalized wave vector space; determining the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing; determining the corresponding non - uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space; controlling the device under test 210, the turntable 220, the test antenna system 230, and the power detector 240 to measure the EIRP at the positions of the non - uniform sampling points in the spherical coordinate system in the angular space, and determining the TRP according to the EIRP.

[0200] Figure 10(a) and (b) are demonstrations of the simulated radiation pattern and the non-uniform sampling scanning scheme of an 8×16 rectangular array according to a representative embodiment. In this rectangular array, each element is of equal amplitude and in-phase, the element spacing d is λ / 2, the element size D y ≈8λ and D z ≈4λ. The array antenna is parallel to the y-z plane, and the normal direction of the array plane is parallel to the x-axis. Figure 10 The two-dimensional radiation pattern in (a) shows the distribution of the EIRP of this rectangular antenna in the normalized wave vector space (K y , K z ). The maximum EIRP value is located at (0, 0), that is, in the x-axis direction. Multiple contour lines with a 10 dB interval divide the radiation pattern into several regions. The color shade represents the magnitude of the EIRP value. The lighter the color, the larger the EIRP value, and the darker the color, the smaller the EIRP value. In Figure 10 the two-dimensional radiation pattern in (a), a periodic grid composed of lines with the most tendency to dark colors can be seen. These periodic grid points and the dark lines forming the grid are exactly the null positions of the EIRP value.

[0201] In the normalized wave vector space (K y , K z ), it can be seen that the zeros are evenly arranged at equal intervals in the y-direction and the z-direction. This equal interval can be represented by the first null beamwidth in the angular space, that is, and sin(FNBW θ / 2), corresponding to the Rayleigh resolution K yr =λ / D y and K zr =λ / D z in the normalized wave vector space in the y-direction and the z-direction respectively. According to the Nyquist sampling theorem, when the interval of the two-dimensional sampling grid in the normalized wave vector space is less than the corresponding Rayleigh resolution, that is, K grid,y ≤K yr and K grid,z ≤K zr , this sampling hardly destroys the array information and can be considered lossless sampling. Therefore, based on the above sampling, the calculated TRP value should conform to the true TRP value. Figure 10 The periodic array of "+" in the radiation sampling diagram of the normalized wave vector space in (b) demonstrates the above sampling scheme. In Figure 10 the sampling diagram in (b), the values of K grid,y and K grid,z are the same as the corresponding Rayleigh resolutions respectively, so the sampling points include all the zeros in the y-direction and the z-direction. Although these sampling points are in the normalized wave vector space (K y , K z) is uniformly distributed, but non-uniformly distributed in the angular space. In fact, these sampling points in the angular space are distributed in such a way that they exactly cover the lattice points formed by the null curves, as shown in Figure 7 the lattice point positions in Figure (a). Therefore, this sampling scheme can be called a non-uniform sampling scheme. Figure 10 (b) The sampling diagram is a special case in the non-uniform sampling scheme and is the most economical and rapid one in this non-uniform sampling scheme.

[0202] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below through application examples.

[0203] Figure 11 and Figure 12 are flowcharts of several application examples including uniform and non-uniform sampling schemes related to the aforementioned system. Based on the above discussion, the following 4 representative application examples can be provided. Figure 11 and Figure 12 The processing in can be implemented by the Figure 2 test environment of and Figure 7 (b) and Figure 10 (b) sampling methods. Although for simplicity of illustration, the method is described by a series of boxes, it should be understood that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the boxes, because some boxes can occur in an order different from the order described herein, and / or simultaneously with other boxes. In addition, not all boxes in the examples are necessary to achieve the described effect.

[0204] Application Example 1

[0205] In this application example, the size of the antenna is known, which is D in the y direction and D y and D z in the z direction respectively, and a uniform sampling scheme is adopted. The test environment can be the far-field millimeter-wave anechoic chamber test system 200, but is not limited thereto. In principle, near-field (including planar field, cylindrical field, spherical field) and compact-field millimeter-wave anechoic chambers that can achieve antenna pattern measurement can be used as the measurement environment.

[0206] Figure 11 shows the flow of the TRP test method based on the uniform sampling scheme, including the following steps:

[0207] Step 1111, calibrate the full anechoic chamber and its measurement environment, including: air path loss, cable insertion loss, spherical coordinate system position parameters, etc., which is the basis for subsequent measurement steps. Anechoic chamber environment calibration belongs to the routine preparation operation of radio frequency testing.

[0208] Step 1112, determine whether the size of the integrated antenna is known. In this application example, the antenna size is known, so enter Step 1121.

[0209] Step 1121. Since the antenna size is known, the angular spatial Rayleigh resolution θ can be directly obtained through Formula (2) or Formula (3). r and Write the result into the tester 250 and proceed to Step 1141.

[0210] Step 1141. Determine the interval θ of uniform sampling. grid and As described Figure 7 (when sampling the pattern) as mentioned before, the sampling interval θ grid and are respectively less than and as close as possible to the Rayleigh resolution θ r and Among them, the most economical and effective way is to make the sampling interval equal to the Rayleigh resolution. After determining the sampling interval, write it into the tester 250 and proceed to Step 1142.

[0211] Step 1142. The tester 250 calculates the azimuths of each sampling point on the front hemisphere where the main beam is located through the determined sampling interval m, n = 0, ±1, ±2..., determine the number of sampling points, estimate the sampling time, and control the turntable 220 and the measurement antenna support 232 to turn to the specified azimuths of the sampling points (the actual sampling process can be the great circle cutting method or the conical cutting method). Then, the antenna system 230 and the power receiving instrument 240 measure and record the EIRP values at these azimuths of the sampling points. The latter transmits the data to the tester 250 and proceeds to Step 1143.

[0212] Step 1143. After the tester 250 obtains the EIRP values of the sampling points, calculate the TRP value using Formula (4), output the calculation result, and end the test.

[0213] Application Example 2

[0214] In this application example, the size of the antenna is unknown (for example, with an antenna radome and not easy to disassemble), and a uniform sampling scheme is adopted. The test environment can be the far-field millimeter-wave anechoic chamber test system 200, but it is not limited to this. In principle, the near-field (including plane field, cylindrical field, spherical field) and compact anechoic chambers that can realize the measurement of the antenna pattern can be used as the measurement environment.

[0215] Figure 11 Shows the flow of the TRP test method based on the uniform sampling scheme, including the following steps:

[0216] Step 1111. Calibrate the full-wave anechoic chamber and its measurement environment, including: air path loss, cable insertion loss, spherical coordinate system position parameters, etc. This is the basis for subsequent measurement steps. The calibration of the anechoic chamber environment belongs to the routine preparation operation of radio frequency testing.

[0217] Step 1112, determine whether the size of the integrated antenna is known. In this embodiment, the antenna size is unknown, so proceed to step 1131.

[0218] Step 1131, since the antenna size is unknown, indirectly calculate the Rayleigh resolution by testing the first null beamwidth FNBW of the main beam. Therefore, in step 1131, measure the pattern at 1° intervals or other smaller intervals in the elevation plane and azimuth plane where the main beam is located, and calculate the corresponding first null beamwidth FNBW θ and

[0219] Step 1132, through the formula θ r = FNBW θ / 2 and calculate the Rayleigh resolution. Write the value of the Rayleigh resolution into the tester 250 and then proceed to step 1141.

[0220] Step 1141, determine the interval θ of uniform sampling grid and As described Figure 7 (b) when sampling the pattern, the sampling interval θ grid and are respectively less than and as close as possible to the Rayleigh resolution θ r and Among them, the most cost-effective way is to make the sampling interval equal to the Rayleigh resolution. After determining the sampling interval, write it into the tester 250 and proceed to step 1142.

[0221] Step 1142, the tester 250 calculates the azimuth of each sampling point at the front hemisphere where the main beam is located through the determined sampling interval Determine the number of sampling points, estimate the sampling time, and control the turntable 220 and the measurement antenna support 232 to turn to the specified sampling point azimuth. The actual sampling process can be the great circle cutting method or the conical cutting method. Then, the antenna system 230 and the power receiving instrument 240 measure and record the EIRP values at these sampling point azimuths. The latter transmits the data to the tester 250 and proceeds to step 1143.

[0222] Step 1143, after the tester 250 obtains the EIRP values of the sampling points, calculate the TRP value using formula (4), output the calculation result, and end the test.

[0223] The following application example is uniform sampling in the normalized wave vector space, that is, the non-uniform sampling scheme in the angular space. This sampling scheme can further compress the number of sampling points.

[0224] Application Example Three

[0225] In this application example, the antenna size is known, which is D in the y direction and D in the z direction respectively y and D z , and a non-uniform sampling scheme is adopted. The test environment can be the far-field millimeter-wave anechoic chamber test system 200, but is not limited thereto. In principle, near-field (including planar field, cylindrical field, spherical field) and compact-range millimeter-wave anechoic chambers that can realize antenna pattern measurement can be used as the measurement environment

[0226] Figure 12 The flow of the TRP test method based on the non-uniform sampling scheme is shown, including the following steps

[0227] Step 1211, calibrate the anechoic chamber and its measurement environment, including: air path loss, cable insertion loss, spherical coordinate system position parameters, etc., which is the basis for subsequent measurement steps. Anechoic chamber environment calibration belongs to the routine preparation operation of radio frequency testing

[0228] Step 1212, determine whether the size of the integrated antenna is known. In this embodiment, the antenna size is known, so enter step 1221

[0229] Step 1221, since the antenna size is known, the normalized wave vector space Rayleigh resolution K and K can be directly obtained through formula (6). Write the result into the test machine 250 and enter step 1241 yr and K zr

[0230] Step 1241, determine the grid intervals K and K of the sampling points in the normalized wave vector space. As mentioned when describing (b) the sampling pattern, the grid intervals K and K of the sampling points are respectively less than and as close as possible to the Rayleigh resolutions K and K. The most economical and effective way is to make the sampling interval equal to the Rayleigh resolution. After determining the sampling interval, write it into the test machine 250 and enter step 1242 grid,y and K grid,z As described Figure 10 (b) the sampling pattern, the grid intervals K and K of the sampling points grid,y and K grid,z are respectively less than and as close as possible to the Rayleigh resolutions K and K yr and K zr . After determining the sampling interval, write it into the test machine 250 and enter step 1242

[0231] Step 1242, the test machine 250 calculates each discrete sampling point in the normalized wave vector space through the determined sampling interval, that is

[0232]

[0233] Screen these discrete points and only take the absolute value of the wave vector ​The reason for this is that all electromagnetic modes capable of long-distance transmission in the air interface are radiation modes. After screening the sampling points in the normalized wave vector space, the number of sampling points can be determined, the sampling time can be estimated, and then step 1243 is entered.

[0234] Step 1243: After the testing machine 250 obtains the screened sampling points, it transforms these sampling points in the normalized wave vector space into the angular space through formula (5) to obtain non-uniformly distributed sampling points in the angular space. Then step 1244 is entered.

[0235] Step 1244: The testing machine 250 controls the turntable 220 and the measurement antenna support 232 to turn to the azimuths of the designated sampling points. Then, the measurement antenna system 230 and the power receiving instrument 240 measure and record the EIRP values at these sampling point azimuths. The latter transmits the data to the testing machine 250, and then step 1245 is entered.

[0236] Step 1245: After the testing machine 250 obtains the EIRP values of the sampling points, it calculates the TRP value using formula (7), outputs the calculation result, and ends the test.

[0237] Application Example 4

[0238] In this application example, the antenna size is unknown (for example, with an antenna radome and not easy to disassemble), and a non-uniform sampling scheme is adopted. The test environment can be the far-field millimeter-wave anechoic chamber test system 200, but it is not limited to this. In principle, near-fields (including planar fields, cylindrical fields, spherical fields) and compact-range millimeter-wave anechoic chambers that can realize antenna pattern measurement can be used as the measurement environment.

[0239] Figure 12 The flow of the TRP test method based on the non-uniform sampling scheme is shown, including the following steps:

[0240] Step 1211: Calibrate the full anechoic chamber and its measurement environment, including: air path loss, cable insertion loss, spherical coordinate position parameters, etc. This is the basis for subsequent measurement steps. The anechoic chamber environment calibration belongs to the routine preparation operations for RF testing.

[0241] Step 1212: Determine whether the size of the integrated antenna is known. In this embodiment, the antenna size is unknown, so step 1231 is entered.

[0242] Step 1231: Since the antenna size is unknown, the Rayleigh resolution is indirectly calculated by testing the first null beam width FNBW of the main beam. Therefore, in step 1231, the pattern is measured at intervals of 1° or other smaller intervals in the elevation plane and azimuth plane where the main beam is located, and the corresponding first null beam width FNBW is calculated. θ and Calculate the Rayleigh resolution through the formula θ r = FNBW θ / 2 and calculate the Rayleigh resolution.

[0243] Step 1232, use the transformation formula (5) to transform the Rayleigh resolution θ r and in the angular space to the Rayleigh resolution K yr and K zr in the normalized wave vector space and enter Step 1241.

[0244] Step 1241, determine the sampling intervals K grid,y and K grid,z . As described Figure 10 when sampling the graph in (b), the sampling intervals K grid,y and K grid,z are respectively less than and as close as possible to the Rayleigh resolutions K yr and K zr . The most cost-effective way is to make the sampling interval equal to the Rayleigh resolution. After determining the sampling interval, write it into the test machine 250 and enter Step 1242.

[0245] Step 1242, the test machine 250 calculates each discrete sampling point in the normalized wave vector space through the determined sampling interval, that is

[0246]

[0247] Screen these discrete points and only take the absolute value of the wave vector . The reason for doing this is that the electromagnetic modes that can perform long-distance transmission in the air interface are all radiation modes. After screening the sampling points in the normalized wave vector space, the number of sampling points can be determined, the sampling time can be estimated, and enter Step 1243.

[0248] Step 1243, after the test machine 250 obtains the screened sampling points, transform these sampling points in the normalized wave vector space to the angular space through the formula (5) to obtain the non-uniformly distributed sampling points in the angular space and then enter Step 1244.

[0249] Step 1244, the test machine 250 controls the turntable 220 and the measurement antenna bracket 232 to turn to the specified sampling point azimuth. Then the measurement antenna system 230 and the power receiving instrument 240 measure and record the EIRP values at these sampling point azimuths. The latter transmits the data to the test machine 250 and enters Step 1245.

[0250] In step 1245, after the test machine 250 obtains the EIRP value of the sampling point, it calculates the TRP value using formula (7), outputs the calculation result, and ends the test.

[0251] Figure 13 is the verification result of the angle grid value. An 8×16 oscillator array is used for the experiment, and the element spacing of the array antenna is 0.5λ; the bottom coordinate axis of the three-dimensional coordinate system is θ grid , taking values from 1° to 30° respectively, calculates the TRP value according to formula (1), and the error is distributed three-dimensionally. It can be seen from the figure that the flat area of the error distribution is at θ grid ≤15°. Calculate the Rayleigh resolution according to formula (2) or formula (3): θ r ≈14.5°. It can be seen that to ensure the measurement accuracy, the maximum value of the sampling interval is close to the Rayleigh resolution, which is consistent with the discussion in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0252] The embodiment of the invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for executing the method for measuring the TRP of the array antenna.

[0253] Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that all or some of the steps in the methods disclosed above, and the functional modules / units in the systems and devices, can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, or a suitable combination thereof. In the hardware implementation, the division of the functional modules / units mentioned above does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, one physical component may have multiple functions, or one function or step may be executed by several physical components in cooperation. Some or all of the components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a digital signal processor or a microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit, such as an application specific integrated circuit. Such software can be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which may include a computer storage medium (or non-transitory medium) and a communication medium (or transitory medium). As is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the term computer storage medium includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, it is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art that communication media typically contains computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transmission mechanism, and can include any information delivery medium.

Claims

1. A method for measuring the total radiated power (TRP) of an array antenna, comprising: determining the grid spacing of sampling points in the normalized wave vector space of the array antenna; determining uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing; determining corresponding non-uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space; measuring the effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) at the positions of the non-uniform sampling points in the spherical coordinate system in the angular space, and determining the TRP according to the EIRP.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the determination of the grid spacing of sampling points in the normalized wave vector space of the array antenna includes: determining the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space, and determining the grid spacing of sampling points in the normalized wave vector space of the array antenna according to the Rayleigh resolution.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, the determination of the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space includes: determining the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna; or determining the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space, and converting the Rayleigh resolution in the angular space into the Rayleigh resolution in the wave vector space.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, the determination of the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the wave vector space according to the array size and signal wavelength of the array antenna is performed in the following manner: K yr = λD y , K zr = λD z where K yr and K zr are the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the wave vector space, D y and D z are the maximum antenna apertures of the array antenna in the horizontal and vertical directions respectively, and λ is the signal wavelength.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein, the determination of the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space includes: determining the first null beam width (FNBW), and determining the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the FNBW.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, the determination of the FNBW includes: measuring the FNBW of the main beam on the elevation plane and azimuth plane of the spherical coordinate system including the maximum radiation power point.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein, the determination of the Rayleigh resolution of the array antenna in the angular space according to the FNBW is performed in the following manner: where θ r and are the Rayleigh resolutions of the array antenna in the spherical coordinate system θ and directions respectively, and FNBW θ and are the FNBWs of the patterns on the elevation plane and azimuth plane of the spherical coordinate system respectively.

8. The method according to claim 2, wherein, the determination of the grid spacing of sampling points in the normalized wave vector space of the array antenna according to the Rayleigh resolution includes: setting the grid spacing of sampling points in the normalized wave vector space of the array antenna to be less than or equal to the Rayleigh resolution.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the determination of uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing includes: According to the grid spacing K grid,y , K grid,z Uniformly sample in the normalized wave vector space to obtain a set of discrete values, which form the vector sampling points of the normalized wave vector space Select the vectors (K ym , K zn ) as the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the determination of corresponding non-uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space includes: By means of the transformation relationship between the normalized wave vector space (K y , K z ) and the angular space , determine the corresponding in the angular space for the uniformly sampled points (K ym , K zn ) in the normalized wave vector space. Among them, the transformation relationship between the normalized wave vector space (K y , K z ) and the angular space is as follows:

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein, the determination of the TRP according to the EIRP is performed in the following manner: where K grid,y and K grid,z are the grid spacings of the sampling points in the y - direction and z - direction in the normalized wave - vector space, respectively; is the normalized wave vector of the sampling point, and the elevation angle θ n and the azimuth angle are the discrete sampling points of the normalized wave vector corresponding to the discrete values in the angular space, is the EIRP at the discrete sampling points in the angular space ​ 12. A measuring device for the total radiated power (TRP) of an array antenna, wherein, it includes: a grid spacing determination module for determining the grid spacing of sampling points in the normalized wave vector space of the array antenna; A uniform sampling point determination module, configured to determine uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing; A non-uniform sampling point determination module, configured to determine corresponding non-uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space; A TRP determination module, configured to measure the EIRP at the positions of the non-uniform sampling points in the spherical coordinate system in the angular space, and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

13. A measurement system for the total radiated power TRP of an array antenna Characterized in that It includes: A device under test fixed on a turntable, a test antenna system, a power detector, and a tester, wherein the device under test includes an array antenna and a remote radio unit integrated together, the power detector is connected to the test antenna system, and the tester is respectively connected to the device under test, the turntable, the test antenna system, and the power detector; The tester is configured to: determine the grid spacing of the sampling points of the array antenna in the normalized wave vector space; determine uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space according to the grid spacing; determine corresponding non-uniform sampling points in the angular space according to the uniform sampling points in the normalized wave vector space; control the device under test, the turntable, the test antenna system, and the power detector to measure the EIRP at the positions of the non-uniform sampling points in the spherical coordinate system in the angular space, and determine the TRP according to the EIRP.

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