Satellite-borne large-scale phased array multi-stage joint temperature gain compensation method

Abstract

The application relates to a satellite-borne large-scale phased array multi-stage joint temperature gain compensation method, which comprises the following steps: a multi-stage gain compensation mode is adopted; a subarray stage realizes real-time and rapid gain control through a table lookup mode; and a public stage realizes joint gain compensation through temperature telemetry and power telemetry. The application meets the consistency requirement of the gain of a large array and multiple subarrays, controls the absolute gain of each radio frequency link of a multi-beam, and can more accurately perform phased array temperature gain compensation. The application utilizes the gain control components, temperature telemetry, power telemetry and wave control systems contained in the array antenna system to complete the on-orbit gain adaptive compensation of the whole antenna, does not need to additionally increase hardware cost, and reduces the difficulty of satellite application.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of phased array antennas, and more specifically, to a multi-level joint temperature gain compensation method for a large-scale phased array on a spaceborne platform. Background Technology

[0002] A spaceborne large-scale common-aperture multi-beam phased array transmitting antenna consists of a radiating array subsystem, a multi-beam active power distribution network subsystem, a beam control subsystem, and a power supply and distribution electronics system. The transmitting phased array antenna comprises many antenna elements, each fed with a signal of a specific amplitude and phase (referred to as amplitude weights and phase weights) to form a specific beam and achieve beam scanning. Generally, precise control of the amplitude and phase consistency between array elements is required. Since phased arrays are broadband antennas, the broadband characteristics necessitate evaluating the amplitude-frequency / phase-frequency consistency between different channels. Furthermore, as an external single-unit system with a wide operating temperature range, the consistency of the amplitude-frequency / phase-frequency curves between different channels under high and low temperatures also needs to be evaluated.

[0003] The most fundamental core indicator of a phased array transmitter is EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power). To pursue high system efficiency, traditional phased arrays push the final stage power amplifier of the transmit channel to a compression point above P-3. However, multi-beam transmitters utilize antennas with a common aperture and a shared final stage power amplifier. Based on a multi-carrier and small subcarrier communication system, the phased array transmitter link design must ensure both transmit power and efficiency while controlling link linearity and gain stability to meet the antenna system's third-order intermodulation specification. Therefore, the active power distribution network subsystem operates in the linear region. Furthermore, as the only downlink antenna in agile beamload systems, the transmitter phased array receives injection signals from various uplinks, including transparent repeaters, inter-satellite sources, and transponders. The injection power of each beam in the phased array antenna exhibits a dynamic variation of 20dB. Therefore, the RF link design of the transmitter phased array must ensure that the ERIP value and third-order intermodulation of each beam simultaneously meet requirements under conditions of wide-range injection power variation and high / low temperature operation. These two are mutually exclusive indicators. In existing technologies, excessive gain compensation can lead to out-of-tolerance third-order intermodulation index, while insufficient compensation can lead to out-of-tolerance EIRP index. Failure to meet either requirement will cause a decline in the quality of satellite-to-ground communication signals. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To overcome at least one deficiency in the prior art, this application provides a multi-level joint temperature gain compensation method for spaceborne large-scale phased arrays.

[0005] Firstly, a method for multi-level joint temperature gain compensation of a large-scale phased array on a spaceborne platform is provided, including:

[0006] Step 1: Send a phased array temperature gain compensation enable command to the mother wave controller via the onboard payload processor;

[0007] Step 2: N beams are input to the preamplifier. For each beam, the main wave controller periodically collects the temperature telemetry values ​​returned by the temperature sensors of each transmitting module in the preamplifier, M extension amplifiers, and M subarrays; and determines the temperature telemetry value corresponding to each subarray based on the temperature telemetry values ​​of each transmitting module in each subarray.

[0008] Step 3: Calculate the temperature increase or decrease between the temperature telemetry value corresponding to each module and the corresponding initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point recorded after the last adjustment. If the temperature increase or decrease is greater than the corresponding temperature increment level, adjust the gain of the module corresponding to the temperature increase or decrease. Each module includes a preamplifier component, M extended amplifier components and M subarrays.

[0009] Step 4: For modules that require gain adjustment, determine the gain increase or decrease corresponding to the module based on the temperature-gain curve of the module and the corresponding temperature increase or decrease; calculate the total gain increase or decrease of each subarray corresponding to each beam based on the gain increase or decrease corresponding to the module.

[0010] Step 5: For each beam, the minimum value of the total gain increase or decrease of all subarrays is used as the gain adjustment value of the phased array RF common path; the difference between the total gain increase or decrease of each subarray and the minimum value is used as the gain adjustment value within each subarray.

[0011] Step 6: For compensation of external injected power changes in the phased array antenna, the power values ​​of the N beams injected by the C / Ka frequency converter are collected by the power telemetry module inside the preamplifier and returned to the main wave controller. The main wave controller calculates the gain compensation amount of each beam based on the change in the power values ​​of the N injected beams.

[0012] Step 7: The main wave controller accumulates the gain compensation amount of each beam and the gain adjustment value of the phased array RF common path corresponding to each beam to obtain the gain adjustment amount corresponding to each beam; the control code corresponding to each beam is calculated based on the gain adjustment amount; the control code is sent to the preamplifier component, the preamplifier component executes the control code, and the common path gain of N beam RF channels is adjusted through internal attenuation.

[0013] Step 8: The main wave controller sends the gain adjustment value of each subarray corresponding to each beam to the subwave controller. The subwave controller calculates the control code based on the gain adjustment value of each subarray, frames and packages the control code, and distributes it to each transmission module of the corresponding subarray. Each transmission module receives the control code and executes it, and adjusts the gain of each subarray by changing the internal attenuation of the adjustable attenuation.

[0014] In one embodiment, the method further includes:

[0015] After each successful gain adjustment, the initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point of the previous adjustment ± the temperature increment level at the time of this adjustment is used as the reference temperature point for the current adjustment of the module whose gain adjustment was successful.

[0016] In one embodiment, the method further includes:

[0017] When the automatic temperature adjustment of the phased array is prohibited during satellite transmission, the phased array gain is manually adjusted on the ground through ground-based command transmission. This involves sending the control code corresponding to each beam to the preamplifier component and the control code corresponding to each subarray to each transmission module via ground-based telemetry and control.

[0018] In one embodiment, step 4, calculating the total gain increase or decrease for each subarray corresponding to each beam based on the gain increase or decrease corresponding to the module, includes:

[0019] For each beam, one extension component corresponds to one subarray. The preamplifier, one extension component, and the corresponding transmitter module of one subarray together constitute an RF link. The gain increase or decrease of the modules that require gain adjustment in one RF link is accumulated to obtain the total gain increase or decrease of one subarray.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] 1. This application adopts a multi-level gain compensation method. The subarray level completes gain control in real time and quickly through a lookup table mode, while the common level uses a combination of temperature telemetry and power telemetry for gain compensation. This satisfies the gain consistency requirements of large arrays with multiple subarrays and controls the absolute gain of each RF link of multiple beams, enabling more accurate phased array temperature gain compensation.

[0022] 2. This application utilizes the gain control components, temperature telemetry, power telemetry, and beam control system inherent in the array antenna system to complete the on-orbit gain adaptive compensation of the entire antenna, without the need for additional hardware costs, thus reducing the difficulty of satellite applications.

[0023] 3. This application can be used to test and verify various types of array antenna systems that require high-precision gain compensation in orbit, and has broad applicability and application value. Attached Figure Description

[0024] This application can be better understood by referring to the description given below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of this specification. In the drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a spaceborne multi-beam common-aperture phased array antenna is shown.

[0026] Figure 2 The block diagram of the temperature gain compensation system for a multi-beam phased array antenna is shown.

[0027] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a multi-level joint temperature gain compensation method for large-scale phased arrays on space is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0028] Exemplary embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. For clarity and brevity, not all features of the actual embodiments are described in the specification. However, it should be understood that many embodiment-specific decisions can be made in the development of any such actual embodiment to achieve the developer’s specific objectives, and these decisions may vary as the embodiments differ.

[0029] It should also be noted that, in order to avoid obscuring this application with unnecessary details, only the device structure closely related to the solution of this application is shown in the accompanying drawings, while other details that are not closely related to this application are omitted.

[0030] It should be understood that this application is not limited to the described embodiments by virtue of the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this document, embodiments may be combined with each other, features may be substituted or borrowed between different embodiments, and one or more features may be omitted in one embodiment, where feasible.

[0031] The antenna simultaneously provides N independent transmit agile beams in orbit. The antenna employs a multi-beam, common-aperture scheme, with all N beams sharing the antenna radiating array and the final stage power amplifier of the transmit module. To meet the EVM (Error Vector Magnitude) requirements of the satellite-to-ground wireless system and ensure downlink signal quality for the payload system, the transmit phased array requires strict control of the antenna's third-order intermodulation performance. Therefore, rigorous gain control is implemented for each stage of the amplifiers in the phased array's RF link to ensure that the final transmit power amplifier operates at its rated operating point.

[0032] When the antenna RF link is operating at its rated point, based on the mission specifications EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power) and EVM requirements, Figure 1 This diagram illustrates the composition of a spaceborne multi-beam common-aperture phased array antenna. Figure 1 The red area in the middle represents the range within which the system simultaneously meets both the EIRP and third-order intermodulation performance specifications. This indicates that the allowable gain variation range for the antenna RF system is 1.5 dB. As mentioned earlier, the gain control accuracy of the phased array transmit RF link across the entire temperature range must be within ±1 dB, which is a very stringent requirement for a transmit RF link with a net gain of 90 dB.

[0033] Figure 2The diagram illustrates the structural block diagram of a temperature gain compensation system for a multi-beam phased array antenna. The system includes: a preamplifier assembly, an extension assembly, transmission modules, and a beam control subsystem. The beam control subsystem comprises a main beam controller and sub-beam controllers. There is one preamplifier assembly, M extension assemblies, and M subarrays. Each subarray contains P transmission modules, where P can be 16. The total number of transmission modules is P. There are M units, including 1 main wave controller and M sub-wave controllers.

[0034] Based on a multi-beam phased array antenna temperature gain compensation system, this application provides a multi-level joint temperature gain compensation method for a large-scale spaceborne phased array. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a multi-level joint temperature gain compensation method for large-scale phased arrays on space is shown. The method mainly includes the following steps:

[0035] Step 1: Send a phased array temperature gain compensation enable command to the mother wave controller via the onboard payload processor.

[0036] The phased array gain adjustment is synchronized with the use of the on-board service beam pattern. Therefore, each phased array gain adjustment is triggered by the beam control FPGA sending A / C pulse signals according to the on-board payload processor cycle.

[0037] Step 2: N beams are input to the preamplifier. For each beam, the main wave controller periodically collects the temperature telemetry values ​​returned by the temperature sensors of each transmitting module in the preamplifier, M extension amplifiers, and M subarrays; and determines the temperature telemetry value corresponding to each subarray based on the temperature telemetry values ​​of each transmitting module in each subarray.

[0038] Here, each temperature telemetry value is taken three times consecutively, with each measurement spaced 448ms apart. If all three measurements are within the valid range, the temperature is considered valid, and the average of the three measurements is taken as the temperature telemetry value. If any temperature telemetry value is invalid, it is replaced with another valid temperature telemetry value. If all temperature telemetry values ​​are invalid, no recording or gain adjustment is performed, and an alarm is triggered. The process will be reassessed and processed at the next adjustment cycle.

[0039] The temperature telemetry value corresponding to each subarray is the average of the temperature telemetry values ​​of all transmitting modules in that subarray.

[0040] Step 3: Calculate the temperature increase or decrease between the temperature telemetry value corresponding to each module and the corresponding initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point recorded after the last adjustment. If the temperature increase or decrease is greater than the corresponding temperature increment level, adjust the gain of the module corresponding to the temperature increase or decrease. Each module includes a preamplifier component, M extended amplifier components and M subarrays.

[0041] If the temperature increase or decrease of a certain module is not greater than the corresponding temperature increase or decrease level, then no gain adjustment will be made for that module, and the judgment and processing will be carried out in the next cycle.

[0042] Here, each module has its own initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point recorded after the last adjustment, and its own corresponding temperature increment level. Temperature increment levels are, for example, 5℃ / 10℃ / 15℃ / 20℃. The temperature increase or decrease refers to the current temperature telemetry value minus the corresponding initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point from the last adjustment.

[0043] Step 4: For modules requiring gain adjustment, determine the corresponding gain increase / decrease based on the module's temperature-gain curve and the corresponding temperature increase / decrease. Then, calculate the total gain increase / decrease for each subarray corresponding to each beam based on the module's gain increase / decrease. Here, the temperature-gain curve shows how the gain changes with temperature.

[0044] Specifically, the total gain increase or decrease for each subarray corresponding to each beam is calculated in the following way:

[0045] For each beam, one extension component corresponds to one subarray. The preamplifier, one extension component, and the corresponding transmitter module of one subarray together constitute an RF link. The gain increase or decrease of the modules that require gain adjustment in one RF link is accumulated to obtain the total gain increase or decrease of one subarray.

[0046] Based on step 3, modules that do not require gain adjustment have a gain adjustment amount of 0 and are not accumulated. For each beam, the total gain increase / decrease of M subarrays will be obtained; for N beams, a total of N... M total gain increments or decrements.

[0047] Step 5: For each beam, the minimum value of the total gain increase or decrease of the subarray is used as the gain adjustment value of the phased array RF common path; the difference between the total gain increase or decrease of each subarray and the minimum value is used as the gain adjustment value within each subarray.

[0048] Step 6: For compensation of externally injected power changes in the phased array antenna, the power values ​​of the N beams injected by the C / Ka frequency converter are collected by the power telemetry module inside the preamplifier and returned to the main wave controller. The main wave controller calculates the gain compensation amount for each beam based on the change in the power values ​​of the N injected beams.

[0049] Step 7: The main wave controller accumulates the gain compensation amount of each beam and the gain adjustment value of the phased array RF common path corresponding to each beam to obtain the gain adjustment amount corresponding to each beam; the control code corresponding to each beam is calculated based on the gain adjustment amount; the control code is sent to the preamplifier component, the preamplifier component executes the control code, and the common path gain of the N beam RF channels is adjusted through internal attenuation.

[0050] Here, the control code is sent to the N-beam independent gain adjustable module inside the preamplifier component. The multi-functional chip inside the module receives and executes the control code, and adjusts the common path gain of the N beam RF channels through internal attenuation.

[0051] Step 8: The main wave controller sends the gain adjustment value of each subarray corresponding to each beam to the subwave controller. The subwave controller calculates the control code based on the gain adjustment value of each subarray, frames and packages the control code, and distributes it to each transmission module of the corresponding subarray. The multi-functional chip inside each transmission module receives the control code and executes it, and adjusts the gain of each subarray by changing the internal attenuation of the adjustable attenuation.

[0052] In this embodiment, the application employs a multi-level gain compensation method. The subarray level performs real-time and rapid gain control through a lookup table, while the common level uses a combination of temperature telemetry and power telemetry for gain compensation. This satisfies the gain consistency requirements of a large array with multiple subarrays and controls the absolute gain of each RF link in a multi-beam array, enabling more accurate phased array temperature gain compensation.

[0053] Furthermore, the method also includes:

[0054] After each successful gain adjustment, the initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point of the previous adjustment ± the temperature increment level at the time of this adjustment is used as the reference temperature point for the module whose gain adjustment was successful. Links that have not been adjusted or whose adjustments were unsuccessful do not update their reference temperature points.

[0055] Here, when the current temperature increase or decrease is positive, the initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point adjusted last time is added to the temperature increment level of this adjustment; when the current temperature increase or decrease is negative, the initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point adjusted last time is subtracted from the temperature increment level of this adjustment.

[0056] Furthermore, the method also includes:

[0057] When automatic temperature adjustment of the phased array transmitted from the satellite is disabled, the phased array gain is manually adjusted by ground-based command transmission. This involves sending control codes for each beam to the preamplifier unit and control codes for each subarray to each transmission module via ground-based telemetry and control. The control codes transmitted from the ground include attenuation values ​​at the common and subarray levels, which can be used for gain control of the satellite antenna (pre-stage attenuator) or temperature-compensated gain (post-stage attenuator) by the ground.

[0058] The above descriptions are merely various embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for multi-level joint temperature gain compensation of a large-scale phased array on a spaceborne platform, characterized in that, include: Step 1: Send a phased array temperature gain compensation enable command to the mother wave controller via the onboard payload processor; Step 2: N beams are input to the preamplifier. For each beam, the main wave controller periodically collects the temperature telemetry values ​​returned by the temperature sensors of each transmitting module in the preamplifier, M extension amplifiers, and M subarrays; and determines the temperature telemetry value corresponding to each subarray based on the temperature telemetry values ​​of each transmitting module in each subarray. Step 3: Calculate the temperature increase or decrease between the temperature telemetry value corresponding to each module and the corresponding initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point recorded after the last adjustment. If the absolute value of the temperature increase or decrease is greater than the corresponding temperature increment level, then adjust the gain of the module corresponding to the temperature increase or decrease. Each module includes a pre-amplification component, M extended-amplification components, and M subarrays. Step 4: For modules that require gain adjustment, determine the gain increase or decrease corresponding to the module based on the temperature-gain curve of the module and the corresponding temperature increase or decrease; calculate the total gain increase or decrease of each subarray corresponding to each beam based on the gain increase or decrease corresponding to the module. Step 5: For each beam, the minimum value of the total gain increase or decrease of all subarrays is taken as the gain adjustment value of the phased array RF common path; the difference between the total gain increase or decrease of each subarray and the minimum value is taken as the gain adjustment value within each subarray. Step 6: For compensation of external injected power changes in the phased array antenna, the power values ​​of the N beams injected by the C / Ka frequency converter are collected by the power telemetry module inside the preamplifier and returned to the main wave controller. The main wave controller calculates the gain compensation amount of each beam based on the change in the power values ​​of the N injected beams. Step 7: The main wave controller accumulates the gain compensation amount of each beam and the gain adjustment value of the phased array RF common path corresponding to each beam to obtain the gain adjustment amount corresponding to each beam; the control code corresponding to each beam is calculated based on the gain adjustment amount. The control code is sent to the preamplifier component, which executes the control code and adjusts the common path gain of the N beam RF channels through internal attenuation. Step 8: The main wave controller sends the gain adjustment value of each subarray corresponding to each beam to the subwave controller. The subwave controller calculates the control code based on the gain adjustment value of each subarray, frames and packages the control code, and distributes it to each transmission module of the corresponding subarray. Each transmission module receives the control code and executes it, and adjusts the gain of each subarray by changing the internal attenuation of the adjustable attenuation.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: After each successful gain adjustment, the initial reference temperature point or the reference temperature point of the previous adjustment ± the temperature increment level at the time of this adjustment is used as the reference temperature point for the current adjustment of the module whose gain adjustment was successful.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the automatic temperature adjustment of the phased array is prohibited during satellite transmission, the phased array gain is manually adjusted on the ground through ground-based command transmission. This involves sending the control code corresponding to each beam to the preamplifier component and the control code corresponding to each subarray to each transmission module via ground-based telemetry and control.

4. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Step 4: Based on the gain increase / decrease corresponding to the module, calculate the total gain increase / decrease for each subarray corresponding to each beam, including: For each beam, one extension component corresponds to one subarray. The preamplifier, one extension component, and the corresponding transmitter module of one subarray together constitute an RF link. The gain increase or decrease of the modules that require gain adjustment in one RF link is accumulated to obtain the total gain increase or decrease of one subarray.

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