Validation and Testing of Initial and In-Situ Mutual Coupling-Based Calibration of a Dual-Polarized Active Phased Array Antenna

This paper presents experimental results of an initial and in-situ mutual coupling calibration techniques of an active phased array antenna. The antenna is a dual-polarized 64-element C-band subarray panel equipped with an RF beamformer that enables mutual coupling measurements. Both techniques were...

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Main Authors: Rodrigo M. Lebron, Pei-Sang Tsai, Jonathan M. Emmett, Caleb Fulton, Jorge L. Salazar-Cerreno
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2020-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9047911/
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author Rodrigo M. Lebron
Pei-Sang Tsai
Jonathan M. Emmett
Caleb Fulton
Jorge L. Salazar-Cerreno
author_facet Rodrigo M. Lebron
Pei-Sang Tsai
Jonathan M. Emmett
Caleb Fulton
Jorge L. Salazar-Cerreno
author_sort Rodrigo M. Lebron
collection DOAJ
description This paper presents experimental results of an initial and in-situ mutual coupling calibration techniques of an active phased array antenna. The antenna is a dual-polarized 64-element C-band subarray panel equipped with an RF beamformer that enables mutual coupling measurements. Both techniques were implemented, tested and validated using a custom anechoic chamber and a radar backend. The implementation of a radar backend enables the in-situ validation of both methods. A conventional near-field calibration procedure, also known as park and probe, was used as a reference, in order to validate the proposed method. To quantify the calibration effectiveness of the mutual coupling-based techniques, the results are translated into phase and amplitude errors. It is found that the amplitude estimation of the tested initial technique is affected by edge effects, resulting in errors larger than 1 dB, whereas the phase estimation is less sensitive, yielding an overall root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.5°. In contrast, the proposed in-situ technique is not affected by edge effects, and its estimation RMSE is less than 0.12 dB in amplitude and less than 0.75° in phase. Mutual coupling-based calibration techniques are demonstrated to be very versatile, as they provide calibration methods for environments outside an anechoic chamber, and they also enable immediate feedback on the health of the system.
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spelling doaj.art-a7f2ee9555fb4637b88d0e1904d491e62022-12-21T23:26:08ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362020-01-018783157832910.1109/ACCESS.2020.29835239047911Validation and Testing of Initial and In-Situ Mutual Coupling-Based Calibration of a Dual-Polarized Active Phased Array AntennaRodrigo M. Lebron0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6031-4998Pei-Sang Tsai1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4016-8046Jonathan M. Emmett2Caleb Fulton3Jorge L. Salazar-Cerreno4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9211-9911School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USAEarth Observing Laboratory (EOL), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO, USAEarth Observing Laboratory (EOL), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO, USASchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USASchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USAThis paper presents experimental results of an initial and in-situ mutual coupling calibration techniques of an active phased array antenna. The antenna is a dual-polarized 64-element C-band subarray panel equipped with an RF beamformer that enables mutual coupling measurements. Both techniques were implemented, tested and validated using a custom anechoic chamber and a radar backend. The implementation of a radar backend enables the in-situ validation of both methods. A conventional near-field calibration procedure, also known as park and probe, was used as a reference, in order to validate the proposed method. To quantify the calibration effectiveness of the mutual coupling-based techniques, the results are translated into phase and amplitude errors. It is found that the amplitude estimation of the tested initial technique is affected by edge effects, resulting in errors larger than 1 dB, whereas the phase estimation is less sensitive, yielding an overall root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.5°. In contrast, the proposed in-situ technique is not affected by edge effects, and its estimation RMSE is less than 0.12 dB in amplitude and less than 0.75° in phase. Mutual coupling-based calibration techniques are demonstrated to be very versatile, as they provide calibration methods for environments outside an anechoic chamber, and they also enable immediate feedback on the health of the system.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9047911/Active phased arraycalibrationcomponent failuremutual couplingpark and probe
spellingShingle Rodrigo M. Lebron
Pei-Sang Tsai
Jonathan M. Emmett
Caleb Fulton
Jorge L. Salazar-Cerreno
Validation and Testing of Initial and In-Situ Mutual Coupling-Based Calibration of a Dual-Polarized Active Phased Array Antenna
IEEE Access
Active phased array
calibration
component failure
mutual coupling
park and probe
title Validation and Testing of Initial and In-Situ Mutual Coupling-Based Calibration of a Dual-Polarized Active Phased Array Antenna
title_full Validation and Testing of Initial and In-Situ Mutual Coupling-Based Calibration of a Dual-Polarized Active Phased Array Antenna
title_fullStr Validation and Testing of Initial and In-Situ Mutual Coupling-Based Calibration of a Dual-Polarized Active Phased Array Antenna
title_full_unstemmed Validation and Testing of Initial and In-Situ Mutual Coupling-Based Calibration of a Dual-Polarized Active Phased Array Antenna
title_short Validation and Testing of Initial and In-Situ Mutual Coupling-Based Calibration of a Dual-Polarized Active Phased Array Antenna
title_sort validation and testing of initial and in situ mutual coupling based calibration of a dual polarized active phased array antenna
topic Active phased array
calibration
component failure
mutual coupling
park and probe
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9047911/
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