Quick correction method for phase value of phase control beam scanning wave control table

Abstract

The invention discloses a quick correction method for a phase value of a phased beam scanning wave control table, which belongs to the array antenna technology, and is characterized in that a homogenized directional diagram of an antenna unit in an array provided by the invention is calculated only through full-wave simulation or test of an individual beam position of an antipode; on the basis, the phase correction value of each beam position in the beam control table can be quickly obtained, and the purpose of quickly correcting the array beam pointing deviation is achieved. According to the method for rapidly correcting the phase value of the phased beam scanning wave control table, mutual coupling between antenna units in an array does not need to be specially researched, full-wave simulation or debugging testing does not need to be carried out on beam positions of the whole array one by one, the method can be implemented in a design stage and a verification test stage, and the method is high in practicability. The method has the advantages of high correction precision, high speed, wide applicability, easiness in implementation, low cost and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of array antennas, and particularly relates to a method for quickly correcting the phase values of a phase control beam scanning wave control table. Background Art

[0002] Active phased array antennas have the advantages of fast beam scanning speed, beam shape agility, strong anti-interference ability, high reliability, etc., and have been widely used in platforms such as 5G / 6G communication, information collection, target detection / interference. As one of the important indicators of phased array antennas, the accuracy of beam pointing plays a decisive role in the target positioning and direction finding accuracy of phased array systems. However, the accuracy of beam pointing is usually affected by various factors within the phased array system, such as component aging and failure, environmental changes, manufacturing and assembly errors, and changes in the element pattern caused by mutual coupling between antenna elements, etc., which cause the actual beam pointing formed by the phased array antenna to deviate from the designed pointing requirement, thereby reducing the positioning and direction finding accuracy of the phased array antenna in the above different applications. How to quickly correct the array beam pointing deviation introduced by the change of the antenna element pattern in the array is one of the problems to be solved urgently.

[0003] To solve this problem, it is usually necessary to make corresponding corrections to the feeding phases of each antenna element in the array during the design stage, so that the actual pointing of the beam formed by the array is consistent with the designed beam pointing. The mutual coupling between antenna elements in the array and the changes of the antenna element pattern in the array and their effects are factors that are difficult to analyze and control. The existing main solution is to use the pattern function of the antenna element or the measured three-dimensional pattern of a single antenna element as the element pattern in the array design during the design stage. Although such a method can improve the accuracy of the designed beam pointing to a certain extent, since the above method does not consider the influence of mutual coupling, there is still a large difference from the actual situation. Analyzing the mutual coupling between antenna elements in the array, testing the antenna element patterns in the array, and performing full-wave simulation on each wave position of the entire array can further improve the design accuracy, but the complexity, resource consumption, and time cost are all relatively high, and a large amount of time and resources may still be consumed for correction during subsequent actual verification and beam calibration. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention proposes a method for quickly correcting the phase values of a phase control beam scanning wave control table, which can quickly and accurately correct the array beam pointing deviation caused by reasons such as the change of the element pattern in the antenna array, so that the actual pointing of the beam formed by the array is consistent with the designed beam pointing (i.e., the target pointing).

[0005] The technical solution for realizing the present invention is as follows: A method for quickly correcting the phase values of a phase control beam scanning wave control table, and the steps are as follows:

[0006] Step 1: Let the 0th element of the uniform linear phased array be located at point O, and the remaining antenna elements numbered from 1 to N - 1 are arranged in sequence along the y-axis, and assume the target direction is θ T .

[0007] Step 2: Calculate the amplitude-phase distribution of the array factor function of the array in Step 1 when forming any given beam position, and the array factor pattern F 1a (θ).

[0008] Step 3: Obtain the full-array radiation pattern F1(θ) of the array in Step 1 under the amplitude-phase distribution in Step 2 through full-wave simulation.

[0009] Step 4: Divide the full-array radiation pattern F1(θ) in Step 3 by the array factor pattern F 1a (θ) to obtain the initial normalized element pattern.

[0010] Step 5: Discard the singular points in the initial normalized element pattern to obtain the transitional normalized element pattern. Take the data points in the transitional normalized element pattern that have the same lobe vertex positions as the array factor pattern F 1a (θ) as interpolation nodes, and perform cubic spline interpolation to obtain the continuous normalized element pattern f e (θ).

[0011] Step 6: First, let θ B = θ T , calculate the phase distribution and the array factor pattern F B when the array factor beam points to θ a (θ).

[0012] Step 7: Multiply F a (θ) by the normalized element pattern f e (θ) obtained in Step 5 to obtain the array pattern F(θ), and further find its derivative F'(θ) = F a '(θ)·f e (θ) + F a (θ)·f e '(θ), and judge whether F'(θ) is 0 at θ T :

[0013] If F'(θ T ) = 0, at this time θ B is the pointing of the corrected array factor pattern; if F'(θ T ) ≠ 0, then adjust the value of θ T within the main lobe range near θ B , and recalculate to make the array factor beam point to θB Phase distribution and F at a (θ), and repeat step 7.

[0014] Step 8: According to the θ determined in step 7 B value, calculate the phase distribution value corresponding to this θ B as the phase correction value of the wave control table.

[0015] Step 9: Specify a new θ T , repeat steps 6 to 8 to find the phase correction values of all beam positions of the phased array.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following remarkable advantages:

[0017] (1) The method of the present invention can quickly obtain the phase correction value of the wave control table for phased beam scanning (hereinafter referred to as the phase correction value), and correct the beam pointing deviation of the phased array caused by the change of the radiation pattern of the antenna elements in the array.

[0018] (2) The method of the present invention has no special restrictions on the scale of the phased array antenna, the form and arrangement of the antenna elements. For phased arrays with large scanning ranges and ultra-wideband phased arrays, using this method in different scanning regions or at different frequencies can further improve the correction accuracy, and has wide applicability.

[0019] (3) The method of the present invention can be extended to planar phased arrays and other types of conformal phased arrays, and is applicable to different forms of phased array antennas.

[0020] (4) The method of the present invention does not need to study the mutual coupling between the antenna elements in the array, greatly simplifying the analysis and correction process of the phased array beam pointing deviation.

[0021] (5) The method of the present invention is easy to implement. Only a few full-wave simulations or tests of the radiation pattern of the array are required to obtain the normalized element radiation pattern proposed by the present invention. On this basis, only a simple search algorithm and a small amount of simple and fast calculations are needed to complete the correction of the phase values of each wave position, and finally the fast correction or calibration of the phased beam is realized.

[0022] (6) The method of the present invention has high correction accuracy and low cost for the phased array beam pointing deviation, and can be used in the design stage or the actual measurement and verification process. Description of the Drawings

[0023] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an N-element linear phased array of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 is the antenna array model of Embodiment 1.

[0025] Figure 3 The normalized unit pattern of the antenna array in Embodiment 1.

[0026] Figure 4 Flowchart of the fast correction method for the phase values of the phased beam scanning wave control table of the present invention.

[0027] In the above figures: the angle θ between the pattern at a certain point in the far field with respect to the z-axis, the beam pointing θ required by the design T , the beam pointing θ of the array factor pattern B . Detailed implementation manners

[0028] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0029] The technical solutions between the various embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the fact that those of ordinary skill in the art can implement it. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the protection scope required by the present invention.

[0030] The present invention proposes a fast correction method for the phase values of the phased beam scanning wave control table to achieve fast correction of the beam pointing deviation of the phased array antenna. This method only needs to perform full-wave simulation or testing on very few beam positions, calculate the normalized pattern of the antenna elements in the array proposed by the present invention, and based on this, the phase correction values of each beam position in the wave control table can be quickly obtained, achieving the purpose of quickly correcting the beam pointing deviation of the array. The invented fast correction method for the phase values of the phased beam scanning wave control table does not require special research on the mutual coupling between the antenna elements in the array, nor does it require full-wave simulation or debugging testing for each beam position of the entire array one by one. It can be implemented in both the design stage and the verification and testing stage, and has the advantages of high correction accuracy, fast speed, wide applicability, easy implementation, and low cost.

[0031] Next, the detailed implementation manners, as well as the technical difficulties and inventive points of the present invention, will be further introduced in combination with this design example.

[0032] Combined with Figure 1 and Figure 4 , the fast correction method for the phase values of the phased beam scanning wave control table is as follows:

[0033] Step 1. Let the 0th unit of the uniform linear phased array be located at point O, and the remaining antenna units numbered from 1 to N - 1 are arranged in sequence along the y-axis, and assume the target direction is θ T .

[0034] Wherein, the number of antenna units N = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...

[0035] Step 2. Calculate the amplitude-phase distribution of the array factor function of the array in Step 1 when forming any given beam position, and the array factor pattern F 1a (θ).

[0036] Wherein, the amplitude-phase distribution of the phased array is a set of amplitude-phase distributions for forming any beam within the array scanning range.

[0037] Step 3. Obtain the full-array radiation pattern F1(θ) of the array in Step 1 under the amplitude-phase distribution in Step 2 through full-wave simulation.

[0038] Step 4. Divide the full-array radiation pattern F1(θ) in Step 3 by the array factor pattern F 1a (θ) to obtain the initial normalized unit pattern first proposed by the present invention.

[0039] Step 5. Discard the singular points in the initial normalized unit pattern to obtain the transitional normalized unit pattern. Use the data points in the transitional normalized unit pattern that have the same positions as the lobe vertices of the array factor pattern F 1a (θ) as interpolation nodes, and perform cubic spline interpolation to obtain the continuous normalized unit pattern f e (θ).

[0040] Step 6. First, let θ B = θ T , calculate the phase distribution and the array factor pattern F B when the array factor beam points to θ a (θ).

[0041] Step 7 Multiply F a (θ) by the normalized unit pattern f e (θ) obtained in Step 5 to obtain the array pattern F(θ), and further find its derivative F'(θ) = F a '(θ)·f e (θ)+F a (θ)·f e '(θ), where F a '(θ) is the first derivative of F a (θ), and f e '(θ) is the first derivative of f e(θ), and determine whether F'(θ) is 0 at θ T :

[0042] If F'(θ T ) = 0, then θ B is the pointing direction of the corrected array factor pattern; if F'(θ T ) ≠ 0, then adjust the value of θ T within the main lobe range near θ B , recalculate the phase distribution and F B (θ) when the beam points to θ a , and repeat step 7;

[0043] In different regions of beam scanning, recalculate the new normalized element pattern, repeat steps 6 and 7, correct the phase values of the wave control table, and further improve the correction accuracy of the global beam pointing.

[0044] Step 8: According to the value of θ B determined in step 7, calculate the corresponding phase distribution value as the phase correction value of the wave control table. B

[0045] Step 9: Specify a new θ T , repeat steps 6 to 8, and the phase correction values of all beam positions of the phased array can be obtained.

[0046] The present invention has the advantages of simple method, fast speed, and high beam correction accuracy, and solves the problems of complex calculation process, low accuracy, large workload of full-array multi-wave position simulation or test debugging, and high resource consumption in the existing solutions due to studying the mutual coupling between antenna elements or measuring actual antenna elements.

[0047] The present invention can be further extended to the design of planar phased arrays and other types of conformal phased arrays. It can also quickly correct the phase values of the beam positions of existing phased arrays to achieve fast beam calibration.

[0048] Embodiment 1

[0049] A fast correction method for the phase values of the wave control table of phased beam scanning according to the present invention takes a linear array of eight-element patch antennas as an example to correct the phase values of its wave control table for beam scanning. Figure 2 The three-dimensional model diagram of the eight-element patch antenna array is given. Figure 3 is the normalized element pattern of the eight-element patch antenna array in the range of θ ∈ (-90°, +90°) in Embodiment 1.

[0050] The beam pointing results after correcting the phase values of the wave control table in Embodiment 1 are shown in Table 1:

[0051] ​Table 1 Beam pointing results after correcting the phase values in the wave control table

[0052]

[0053]

[0054] Table 1 shows that for the eight-element patch antenna linear array in Embodiment 1 within the beam scanning range of 50°, the actual beam pointing after correcting the phase values in its wave control table and the target beam pointing θ T have a deviation within the range of ±0.1°.

[0055] The above-disclosed is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes conceived by those skilled in the art shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for quickly correcting the phase value of a phased beam scanning wave control table, characterized in that: Here are the steps: Step 1: Let the unit 0 of the uniform linear phased array be located at point O, and the remaining antenna units numbered 1 to N-1 are arranged in sequence along the y-axis, and the target direction is set to θ T ; Step 2: Calculate the amplitude and phase distribution of the array factor function of the array in step 1 when forming any given beam position, and the array factor pattern F under this amplitude and phase distribution. 1a (θ); Step 3, obtaining the full array radiation pattern F1(θ) of the array in step 1 under the amplitude and phase distribution of step 2 through full-wave simulation; Step 4: Divide the full array radiation pattern F1(θ) in step 3 by the array factor pattern F in step 2. 1a (θ), obtain the initial uniform unit pattern; Step 5: Discard the singular points in the initial uniform unit pattern to obtain the transition uniform unit pattern. 1a The data points with the same position of each lobe vertex of (θ) are used as interpolation nodes, and cubic spline interpolation is performed to obtain the continuous uniform unit directivity pattern f after eliminating the singular points. e (θ); Step 6: First, let θ B =θ T , calculate the array factor beam pointing θ B Phase distribution and array factor pattern F a (θ); Step 7: F a (θ) and the normalized unit pattern f obtained in step 5 e (θ) to obtain the array pattern F(θ), and further find its derivative function F'(θ) = F a '(θ)·f e (θ)+F a (θ)·f e '(θ), determine whether F'(θ) is in θ T Is it 0? If F'(θ T )=0, then θ B This is the corrected array factor pattern pointing direction; if F'(θ T )≠0, then in θ T Adjust θ within the vicinity of the main lobe B The value of θ is recalculated to make the array factor beam point to θ B Phase distribution and F a (θ), and repeat step 7; Step 8: According to the θ determined in step 7 B The value of θ is calculated with this B The corresponding phase distribution value is used as the phase correction value of the wave control table; Step 9: Specify new θ T , repeat steps 6 to 8 to find the phase correction values ​​of all beam positions of the phased array.

2. The method for rapidly correcting the phase value of a phase-controlled beam scanning wave control table according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step 1, the number N of antenna units is not less than 2.

3. The method for quickly correcting the phase value of a phase-controlled beam scanning wave control table according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The amplitude and phase distribution of the phased array in step 2 is a set of amplitude and phase distributions that form any beam within the array scanning range.

4. The method for rapidly correcting the phase value of a phase-controlled beam scanning wave control table according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In different areas of the beam scan, recalculate the new uniformized unit pattern, repeat steps 6 and 7, and correct the phase value of the beam control table, which can further improve the correction accuracy of the global beam pointing.

5. The method for quickly correcting the phase value of a phase-controlled beam scanning wave control table according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Applicable to planar phased arrays and other types of conformal phased arrays.

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