Performance trade-off between serrated edge and blended rolled edgecompact range reflectors

The performance trade-off between serrated edge and blended rolled edge compact range reflectors is investigated. The edge diffracted fields which contribute to stray signals in the quiet zone have to be minimized. Consequently, an iterative approach has been developed to design serrated edges such that the edge diffracted rays from the serrations can be kept as far away as possible from the desired quiet zone area. Performance of various designs based on the number and size of serrations have been studied using a physical theory of diffraction solution. In addition, an optimized blended rolled edge design with the same size as the serrated edge reflector has also been evaluated for comparison. Finally, numerical results are presented in this paper to address the performance trade-off issue among the various designs. It is clearly shown from this study that the blended rolled edge reflector performs significantly better, which should offset the increased cost needed to construct a rolled edge reflector versus a serrated one     

Compact antenna test range without reflector edge treatment and RF anechoic chamber

There are several types of CATRs (compact antenna test ranges) used in antenna-pattern measurements. An offset reflector is generally used to generate the quiet zone of a CATR. Serrated edges, rolled edges, or R-cards are generally chosen along the reflector's edge to reduce the edge-diffraction field inside the quiet zone of the CATR. In order to reduce stray signals from the environment, a high-quality RF anechoic chamber is required for a CATR. In this paper, a new type of CATR, without either a reflector edge treatment or an RF anechoic chamber, is developed. A commercially available DBS (direct-broadcast satellite) reflector antenna, without edge treatment, is used as the reflector antenna of the CATR to generate the quiet zone of the antenna test range. In order to improve the quiet zone's performance, the fields due to feed spillover, edge diffractions, and other stray signals are gated out by the ITDAMS (impulse time-domain antenna measurement system). The RF interference in the environment can also be reduced by time synchronization and pulse integration of the impulse time-domain antenna measurement system. In order to verify the capabilities of the proposed CATR, three kinds of antennas (a low-directivity horn antenna, a high-directivity 60 cm direct-broadcast satellite reflector antenna, and a 25 cm Ka-band Cassegrain LMDS - local microwave distribution system - antenna) were measured by the proposed CATR. The antenna-pattern results agreed quite well with those of a near-field range and a far-field range.     

An array-compensated spherical reflector antenna for a very large number of scanned beams

There are many stringent demands imposed on the applications of spaceborne antenna systems. One of the most challenging demands is the generation of multiple beams with the ability to scan a very large number of beamwidths. Since the parabolic reflectors have limitations in this application, a 35-m spherical reflector antenna is proposed for a geostationary radar antenna at Ka-band (35.6 GHz) due to its inherent capability of scanning the beams to very large number of beamwidths. The utility of using planar array feeds for correcting spherical phase aberrations is investigated to overcome the performance degradation effects. Two different methodologies are developed for the array excitation coefficients determination based on phase conjugate matching and the results are compared. Using the compensating feed array, the radiation characteristics of the compensated spherical reflector are simulated for no scan and large scan cases and the results are compared with the uncompensated case to show performance improvement. In order to demonstrate the technological readiness of the concept a 1.5-m breadboard model is designed to be built for experimental measurements. Some important mechanical design tolerances and realistic array feed topologies are investigated. The antenna concept developed in this paper is advocated to be used in the next generation of geostationary satellite antenna systems for remote sensing radar applications.     

Etched corner reflector array lasers: a detailed study

The effect of the corner reflector size on the performance of an etched corner reflector array laser is studied. Experimental evidence is presented to show that the operation of the corner reflector array laser is governed by the diffraction principle. The light output increases markedly if the reflector size is large enough so that diffraction can be neglected. This general principle should prove useful in the design of unguided photonic integrated circuits.     

Ka 波段紧缩场天线的设计

设计了一个Ka 波段紧缩场天线。馈源设计结合角锥喇叭在反射面边缘照射电平下降快与波纹喇叭波瓣宽度宽的特点,通过给角锥喇叭加扼流套的改进设计来实现对反射面的照射。反射面采用锯齿型边缘来降低边缘的绕射作用,并进一步在无法加工锯齿部位贴附三角形吸波材料来减小绕射对静区特性的影响。暗室内采用平面测量结果表明,Ka 波段紧缩场天线静区特性满足设计指标要求。     

Compensation of reflector antenna surface distortion using an arrayfeed

Various aspects of reflector surface distortion compensation are explored by first assuming the reflector distortion is given and then designing the compensating feed array. The sensitivity of boresight directivity to changing surface distortion parameters for fixed feed-array geometries is examined. It is found that feed array compensation is feasible only for distortions with low spatial frequency content, such as those distortions induced by thermal and gravitational effects. The optimum directivity methods for determining element excitation is found to yield slightly better values of directivity than those for the conjugate field matching (CMF) technique. However, the CFM technique has, in general, much lower sidelobe levels and lends itself to simple realization in hardware. In view of these results, distortion compensation using an array feed is concluded to be a reasonable approach to improving antenna performance for large, space-based reflector antennas that are not easily accessible for tuning and have time-dependent surface distortions     

Optimisation of cross-polarisation performance for tri-reflectorCATR with spherical main reflector

For a tri-reflector compact antenna test range (CATR) with spherical main reflector and shaped subreflectors, the cross-polarisation performance is optimised, based on the beam-mode expansion method. For optimal designs, physical optics (PO) calculations of the quiet zone fields are presented, and it is shown that a tradeoff has to be made between a low cross-polarisation level and a low amplitude ripple in the quiet zone     

Compact range reflector analysis using the plane wave spectrumapproach with an adjustable sampling rate

An improved method for determining the test zone field of compact range reflectors is presented. The plane wave spectrum (PWS) approach is used to obtain the test zone field from knowledge of the reflector aperture field distribution. The method is particularly well suited to the analysis of reflectors with a linearly serrated rim for reduced edge diffraction. Computation of the PWS of the reflector aperture field is facilitated by a closed-form expression for the Fourier transform of a polygonal window function. Inverse transformation in the test zone region is accomplished using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm with a properly adjusted sampling rate (which is a function of both the reflector size and the distance from the reflector). The method is validated by comparison with results obtained using surface current and aperture field integration techniques. The performance of several serrated reflectors is evaluated in order to observe the effects of edge diffraction on the test zone fields     

有限扫描反射面天线相控波束重构技术

该文研究一种采用聚焦馈源阵列馈电的反射面天线,相控阵馈源离开焦平面向反射面移动一定距离,位于焦散区,能够增强反射面天线的波束重构赋形能力和有限视角扫描能力。采用改进的投影矩阵法,利用仅相位控制技术,求解相控阵馈源的激励系数,有效综合了聚焦馈源偏置抛物面天线的方向图。对算例的设计达到了采用仅相位技术控制波束指向、波束赋形、旁瓣电平等性能要求,实现了相控阵馈电偏置抛物面天线的波束重构或扫描,并利用商用GRASP仿真软件验证了该文的设计结果,说明了该文方法的有效性。     

RF characterization of an inflatable parabolic torus reflectorantenna for space-borne applications

Space-borne satellite applications provide a vast array of services extending from global connectivity to Earth observation systems. The soil moisture radiation mission is a proposed space-borne passive microwave system complementary to the existing Earth observing system operating at low microwave frequencies and requiring an antenna with multibeam, high-beam efficiency, and dual polarization capabilities. To achieve both the large reflector size and the multibeam pattern at the operational frequencies an innovative multibeam reflector antenna design was needed. The advances in inflatable antenna technology has been proposed to overcome the launch vehicle size and weight restrictions. This paper describes a novel offset parabolic torus reflector antenna design that produces the desired multibeam pattern and is compatible with the inflatable antenna technology. Using the system requirements of this mission as an example, the design process for an inflatable parabolic torus reflector antenna is outlined, the development of suitable distortion models is given, and representative RF characteristics are presented. These RF characteristics include far-field patterns, beam contour patterns, beam efficiency, and other key performance parameters. The development of an advanced analytical modeling/numerical tool in support of the design effort is also detailed     

暗室条件下抗干扰测试结果影响分析

暗室为卫星导航接收机抗干扰测试提供了全面有效的测试环境，极大地提高了抗干扰性能定量测试与评估能力。但暗室的静区性能、结构尺寸、天线布局等因素会对抗干扰性能测试结果产生影响。基于多径信号天线接收模型、阵列波程差等效模型和信号来向天线映射模型，通过仿真量化分析了干扰多径信号、有限距离下近场效应和来波方向误差对抗干扰测试结果的影响。结果表明，暗室静区性能的提升可降低干扰多径信号对零陷位置的拉偏；不同暗室尺寸对应不同的零陷深度测试，需根据测试需求折中选择；布设暗室天线应依据预设的被测阵列天线和测试场景。结果可为暗室设计、抗干扰测试方案选定和测试结果分析提供参考，提升抗干扰测试的可信度。     

基于AFA型吸波材料的微波暗室静区性能仿真

基于射线追踪法开发的静区电平仿真软件应用于AFA型吸波材料(难燃型吸波材料)铺设的微波暗室静区性能仿真。软件以国内暗室性能检测机构的喇叭天线数据为依据设定发射天线的辐射特性模拟函数,得到发射天线的直射波方向图。以AFA 型吸波材料的实测数据为依据设定吸波材料的吸波特性模拟函数,计算微波暗室各面墙壁反射电场在静区内叠加后的总反射电场值,并据此得到静区内的反射电平分布。仿真与实测结果表明,1 GHz 以下静区反射电平仿真结果下限值与测试结果偏差相对较大;1 GHz 以上两者偏差小于1 dB,吻合较好。验证了该仿真软件能够快速并较准确地用于微波暗室吸波工程的设计与评估。     

Curved edge modification of compact range reflector

For many years, the compact range has successfully been used to design and evaluate many electromagnetic radiation and scattering systems. However, it has had limited use for large structures because of the large discrepancy between the reflector and target zone sizes. The limitation results from the large edge diffracted signal which emanates from the termination of the reflector. Previous attempts to solve this problem have involved using serrated edges to diffuse the diffracted field. While this reduces the edge diffracted field in the target zone, it is not eliminated. In addition, one has introduced many new corners which also diffract into the target zone. A curved edge modification is presented which reduces the edge diffraction by an order of magnitude or more and in the process does not create new mechanisms which perturb the plane wave in the target zone. Using this curved modification, one is able to design a compact range reflector whose target zone cross section approaches the size of the reflector parabolic surface. This makes the compact range ideal for scale model measurements since larger targets (antennas) can be measured. It also makes it more practical to consider systems which can measure full scale vehicles.     

反射面天线焦面场采样研究与相控阵馈源设计

为了设计高性能的相控阵馈源(phased array feed,PAF),通过反射面天线焦面场最优采样的研究,给出了PAF参数与天线口径效率之间的关系,总结了PAF的最优采样范围和单元间距,导出了PAF单元数量的计算公式.给出了一个9 m天线的PAF设计实例和性能分析,在4～7 GHz频率范围内,扫描范围为±3°时,天...     

Radiation performance improvement of wideband microstrip antenna array using wideband AMC structure

In this paper, the radiation performance of an antenna array is improved by designing a new wideband artificial magnetic conductor (AMC). The proposed AMC surface operates at the frequency of 3 GHz with ±90^° reflection phase bandwidth of 22%. In order to identify the key design parameters of the AMC structure, a parametric study is performed. To improve the radiation performance of the antenna array, an AMC reflector is developed through utilizing an array of 2 × 8 periodic patches of AMC unit cells. By this technique, the front to back ratio of the designed antenna array is enhanced about 16.27 dB. It is concluded that tuning of the AMC dimensions for controlling the reflection coefficient at each port of antenna array during beam steering is necessary. Because of the using of the AMC surfaces as a reflector instead of conventional PEC surfaces, size reduction of the antenna array in the order of 20% is achieved. In this study, a circuit model for single element of the antenna array with considering AMC loading effect is introduced, which predicts the bandwidth behaviour of the proposed antenna. The final designed antenna array exhibits low level of cross polarization making it well‐suited for tracking radars and electronic warfare applications. The proposed antenna with the AMC reflector is fabricated and measured. The measured ?10 dB impedance bandwidth and peak gain of the proposed antenna is 20% (2.7‐3.25 GHz) and 13.4 dBi, respectively, which are compatible with the simulation results.     

阵元失效对超声阵列换能器的影响及优化研究

超声阵列换能器单个或多个阵元的振动效率、几何尺寸等参数的改变,会影响整个阵列的声场分布等性能参数,降低超声检测的分辨率及相应的检测效果.基于阵列换能器声压分布理论,利用自适应算法,从阵元激励的角度,探讨阵列超声换能器阵元激励的优化方法,消除阵元失效的影响.研究结果表明,利用声场分布空间中有限数量的优化参考点,经过对激励参数的优化,可以使有阵元失效阵列的整个声场分布、指向性及聚焦特性等性能指标与标准无阵元失效阵列的基本一致,达到期望的标准声场分布的参数指标,大大降低超声检测设备的应用成本,提高检测效果.     

A fast hybrid asymptotic and numerical physical optics analysis of very large scanning cylindrical reflectors with stacked linear array feeds

A novel hybrid combination of an analytical asymptotic high-frequency method with a numerical physical optics (PO) procedure is developed to efficiently and accurately predict the far zone fields of extremely long, scanning, very high gain, offset cylindrical reflectors of arbitrary cross-section, with large stacked finite periodic linear phased array feeds, for spaceborne applications. In this method, the field generated by each finite length linear feed array is represented as a spectral integral and the induced current on the cylindrical reflector surface due to this illumination is obtained via the PO approximation. The reflector surface is divided into thin, long, piecewise planar strips along the generator of the cylindrical reflector, and the radiation integral over each strip is evaluated asymptotically in closed form, yielding an eight-term ray solution for the radiated fields. What remains is simply the superposition of the contributions of each strip and linear array in the feed stack. The proposed approach is shown to be extremely efficient and accurate as compared to the conventional PO integration technique. In addition, the method is sufficiently versatile to account for the reflector edge treatments (e.g., using resistive cards), as well as to account for a twist in the reflector surface due to thermal distortions in space.     

Signal delay characteristics of the measuring repeater unit operating in the Fresnel zone

A modification of the numerical technique for calculating the field and delay of the signal reflected by a flat reflector and based on the Fresnel-Kirchhoff equation of the diffraction scalar field has been proposed. The relationships taking into account the size of antennas and reflector as well as changes of the amplitude and phase characteristics of repeater channels were obtained. It was shown that the signal delay characteristics in the Fresnel zone depended on the size of reflector shifting with the signal delay variations.     

Array-fed reconfigurable reflector for spacecraft systems

The authors describe a new type of reconfigurable reflector antenna for spacecraft applications in which both the reflector shape and the excitation of a small array feed combine to offer maximum coverage flexibility. To create a reconfigurable continental coverage the array is excited to produce a suitably tapered circularly symmetric pattern and the shape of the mesh reflector adjusted to yield the appropriate secondary radiation pattern. When spot beams are required within the coverage region, the mesh reflector is configured as a paraboloid and individual elements or local clusters excited within the array     

前馈圆极化反射面天线的焦场分析

在大型射电天文望远镜中,研究焦面场的分布对于合理配置馈源阵列具有指导意义。本文采用物理光学法,推导了平面入射波为圆极化、斜入射时,前馈抛物面天线的焦平面及与焦面平行的平面上的电场计算公式。并以我国计划建造的500m 口径球面反射天文望远镜(FAST)为实例,计算了 FAST 的焦面场。