Analysis of phase-focused near-field testing for multiphase-centeradaptive radar systems

Airborne or spaceborne radar systems often require tests before deployment to verify how well the system detects targets and suppresses clutter and jammer signals. The radar antenna diameter can be large and thus the conventional far-field test distance is impractical to implement. The theory and simulations of phase-focused near-field testing for adaptive phased array antennas is discussed. With near-field source deployment, standard phased-array near-field phase focusing provides far-field adaptive nulling equivalent performance at a range distance of one aperture diameter from the adaptive antenna under test. Both main beam clutter sources and sidelobe jammer sources are addressed. The phased array antenna elements analyzed are one-half wavelength dipoles over the ground plane. Bandwidth, polarization, array mutual coupling, and finite array edge effects are taken into account. Numerical simulations of an adaptive antenna that has multiple displaced phase centers indicate that near-field and far-field testing can be equivalent     

Far-field uncertainty due to random near-field measurement error

Recent planar near-field scanning tests with ultralow-sidelobe antennas have confirmed that random near-field measurement errors will ultimately limit the accuracy of far-field patterns. A formulation is outlined for estimating the spectral signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) arising from noncorrectable near-field random measurement errors. The formulation applies to arbitrarily directive test antennas and probes-even nulling probes. A far-field parameter, called the scan plane coupling factor, may be computed directly from the near-field data, and then used to form the spectral SNR. The accuracy of the spectral SNR is confirmed by simulation and by actual tests with low-sidelobe AWACS array antenna     

Partial adaptive nulling on a monopulse phased array antenna system

A partial phase-only nulling (PPON) algorithm has been developed and evaluated on a 496-element monopulse phased array antenna system which employs five-bit phase shifters. Using this PPON algorithm allows nulls in the far-field pattern to be steered to the desired directions for a phased array equipped with low-resolution phase shifters to perform simultaneous nulling in the sum and two difference patterns in the environment of multiple jammers. Simulated and experimental patterns are illustrated     

Far-field performance of linear antennas determined from near-fielddata

The main plane far-field radiation pattern of an antenna under test from the corresponding main plane near-field data, using a circular-line acquisition, is presented. The method is based on the reconstruction of equivalent magnetic currents (EMCs) using decoupled integral equations and one-dimensional source components. The resultant fast procedure is applicable to linear and quasilinear array antennas. Experimental data results and comparison with complete spherical acquisition and center-line acquisition are presented     

Experimental investigation of an adaptive feedback algorithm forhot spot reduction in radio-frequency phased-array hyperthermia

A computer-controlled adaptive phased array radiofrequency hyperthermia system for improved therapeutic tumor heating is experimentally investigated. Adaptive array feedback techniques are used to modify the electric-field in hyperthermia experiments with a homogeneous saline phantom target. A hyperthermia phased-array antenna system has been modified to implement adaptive nulling and adaptive focusing algorithms. The hyperthermia system is a ring phased-array antenna applicator with four independently controlled RF transmitter channels operating at a CW frequency of 100 MHz. The hyperthermia phased array is made adaptive by software modifications which invoke a gradient-search feedback algorithm that controls the amplitude and phase of each transmitter channel. The gradient-search algorithm implements the method of steepest descent for adaptive nulling (power minimization) and the method of steepest ascent for adaptive focusing (power maximization). The feedback signals are measured by electric-field short-dipole probe antennas. The measured data indicate that with an adaptive hyperthermia array it may be possible to maximize the applied electric field at a tumor position in a complex scattering target body and simultaneously minimize or reduce the electric field at target positions where undesired high-temperature regions (hot spots) occur     

一种减小相控阵天线球面近场测量截断误差的方法

在相控阵天线球面近场测量中,有限扫描面和相控阵天线波束扫描将会引起较大的截断误差.为了解决这一问题,提出利用基于遗传算法参数优化的余弦窗函数对近场数据进行加权处理的方法来有效减小截断误差.以半波振子组成的矩形平面阵作为待测天线,对相控阵天线球面近场测量进行了计算机模拟.模拟结果表明,通过对近场数据进行加余弦窗的处理并用遗传算法对参数进行优化能够大大减小相控阵天线波束扫描时的有限扫描面截断误差,从而证实了文中所提出方法的正确性和有效性.     

Planar near-field to far-field transformation using an array ofdipole probes

A method is presented for computing far-field antenna patterns from measured near-field data measured by an array of planar dipole probes. The method utilizes the near-field data to determine some equivalent magnetic current sources over a fictitious planar surface which encompasses the antenna. These currents are then used to find the far fields. The near-field measurement is carried out by terminating each dipole with 50 Ω load impedances and measuring the complex voltages across the loads. An electric field integral equation (EFIE) is developed to relate the measured complex voltages to the equivalent magnetic currents. The mutual coupling between the array of probes and the test antenna modeled by magnetic dipoles is taken into account. The method of moments with Galerkin's type solution procedure is used to transform the integral equation into a matrix one. The matrix equation is solved with the conjugate gradient-fast Fourier transformation (CG-FFT) method exploiting the block Toeplitz structure of the matrix. Numerical results are presented for several antenna configurations to show the validity of the method     

Adaptive processing using a single snapshot for a nonuniformlyspaced array in the presence of mutual coupling and near-fieldscatterers

This paper presents an adaptive technique to extract the signal of interest (SOI) arriving from a known direction in the presence of strong interferers using a single snapshot of data. The antenna elements in this method can be nonuniformly spaced and there can be mutual coupling between them. In addition, near-field scatterers can also be present. First, the voltages induced in the antenna elements of the array due to interferers, mutual coupling between the elements, and near-field scatterers is preprocessed by applying a transformation matrix to these voltages through a rigorous electromagnetic analysis tool. This electromagnetic preprocessing technique transforms the voltages that are induced in a nonuniformly spaced array containing real antenna elements to a set of voltages that will be produced in a uniform linear virtual array (ULVA) containing omnidirectional isotropic point radiators. In the transformation matrix we would like to include various electromagnetic effects like mutual coupling between the antenna elements, presence of near-field scatterers and the platform effects on which the antenna array is mounted. This transformation matrix when applied to the actual measured voltages yields an equivalent set of voltages that will be induced in the ULVA. A direct data domain least squares adaptive algorithm is then applied to the processed voltages to extract the SOI in the presence of interferers. Limited numerical examples are presented to illustrate the novelty of the proposed method     

Simultaneous nulling in the sum and difference patterns of a monopulse antenna

Most adaptive array research has not directly addressed the problem of nulling in a monopulse antenna. Placing a null in the sum does not automatically place a null in the difference pattern and vice versa. Nulls may be placed in the two patterns with the use of separate adaptive weights and controls for the sum and difference channels. However, this requires two sets of adaptive hardware for one antenna. A technique for simultaneous hulling in the sum and difference channels of a monopulse phased array using one set of adaptive weights shared by both channels is described. First, the technique is described for amplitude and phase nulling, then for phase only hulling. In each case, the ability to simultaneously null in both channels with one set of variable weights is theoretically demonstrated.     

Multilevel Plane Wave Based Near-Field Far-Field Transformation for Electrically Large Antennas in Free-Space or Above Material Halfspace

A recently presented fully probe-corrected near-field far-field transformation employing plane wave expansion and diagonal translation operators enables near-field far-field transformation for arbitrary measurement contours and arbitrary antennas. A multilevel extension, inspired by the multilevel fast multipole method, is presented that is suitable for the efficient transformation of electrically large antennas with a size of tens or even hundreds of wavelengths. The measurement points are grouped in a multilevel fashion and translations are carried out to the box centers on the highest level only. The plane waves are processed through the different levels to the measurement points using a disaggregation and anterpolation procedure resulting in a reduced overall complexity. In the second part of this paper, the influence of perfectly conducting ground planes and dielectric halfspaces, as an approximation for ground effects in a real measurement setup, is investigated. As such ground reflected waves are assumed, which propagate from the investigated antenna to the field probe and add to the direct wave contributions. The far-field conditions required for these assumptions are achieved by a source box grouping scheme. By this extension ground effects are directly considered within the near-field far-field transformation. Transformation results using simulated and measured near-field data are shown.      

一种实用的相控阵近场诊断新方法

提出了一种相控阵天线近场诊断的新方法.传统的方法要诊断出相控阵天线单元的激励,必须已知阵列单元的方向图和探头的方向图.文中基于相控阵天线的激励、单元方向图、探头方向图和近场测量数据之间的关系,得到了相控阵天线的激励和近场测量数据之间的耦合方程.利用多项式插值,在不必已知单元方向图和探头方向图的情况下,求解出相控阵天线的单元激励.     

Antenna far-fields from planar acquisition using micro-genetic algorithms

A method for modelling the radiation of an antenna under test from planar near-field data using equivalent magnetic currents (EMC) is presented. Micro-genetic algorithms are used to optimise each component of the EMC. Numerical results of near-field to far-field transformation are reported and discussed.     

球面近远场和远近场变换算法

天线的远场对于研究天线辐射特性具有重大意义，近场测量技术因其能够避免直接测量远场而得到广泛应用，该技术采用近远场变换获得远场，然而，检验该远场的准确性也是很重要的.为了解决此类问题，文中以球面近场测量为例，提供了一种解决方案.该方案主要探讨了球面波模式展开理论，该理论是实现球面近远场变换算法的关键，其将待测天线在空间建立的场展开成球面波函数之和，天线的加权系数既包含了远场信息也包含了近场信息.因此，不仅能够利用近场测量信息获得远场辐射特性，同样能够利用远场辐射特性反推得到近场处电场，这样就能检验由近远场变换算法得到的远场是否准确.文中首先推算得到了近远场变换公式，随后进一步推算得到远近场变换的公式，最后将本文算法计算结果与FEKO测量结果进行比较，二者吻合良好，从而证实了本文两种算法的有效性.     

基于卫星平面阵列多波束天线波束空间的 自适应调零和干扰源定位技术

 本文建立了卫星平面阵列多波束天线的基本模型,并给出了平面阵列多波束天线的阵元空间和波束空间的基本概念.研究了基于卫星平面阵列多波束天线波束空间的自适应调零和干扰源定位技术并给出了仿真结果.理论分析和仿真结果表明:基于平面阵列多波束天线波束空间的自适应调零和干扰源定位技术可以在卫星通信系统中得以应用,可以极大的提高卫星通信系统的抗干扰能力.     

平面近场天线多任务测试系统工程设计

提出了一种平面近场天线多任务测试系统的工程设计方法,该方法通过增加多功能天线测试控制器和远控微波开关对传统平面近场测试系统进行升级,使其具备对平面相控阵雷达天线多频点、多波位、多通道一次最多可测试35个天线方向图的测试能力。对新引入的幅相误差及扫描面截断误差进行了计算分析。大型相控阵天线的实测结果表明,在提高测试效率的同时,其测试精度亦能满足测试要求。     

Monitoring techniques for phased-array antennas

The problem of monitoring phased-array antennas in general and microwave landing system (MLS) in particular is considered. Various methods of monitoring phased-array antennas are suggested. One is based on changes in the far-field radiation pattern arising from defects in the array. Another method uses the near-field to far-field transformation, based on the concept of the plane-wave spectrum, for the detection of defects in the antenna. A third method is based on near-field measurements and uses the properties of the Fresnel integral. The methods were simulated on the computer and, where possible, were tested by experiment. A comparative assessment of the methods is given, and an operational monitoring system is suggested for the MLS phased army.     

Planar near-field to far-field transformation using an equivalentmagnetic current approach

An alternative method is presented for computing far-field antenna patterns from near-field measurements. The method utilizes the near-field data to determine equivalent magnetic current sources over a fictitious planar surface that encompasses the antenna, and these currents are used to ascertain the far fields. Under certain approximations, the currents should produce the correct far fields in all regions in front of the antenna regardless of the geometry over which the near-field measurements are made. An electric field integral equation (EFIE) is developed to relate the near fields to the equivalent magnetic currents. The method of moments is used to transform the integral equation into a matrix one. The matrix equation is solved with the conjugate gradient method, and in the case of a rectangular matrix, a least-squares solution for the currents is found without explicitly computing the normal form of the equation. Near-field to far-field transformation for planar scanning may be efficiently performed under certain conditions. Numerical results are presented for several antenna configurations     

Linear spiral sampling for the bipolar planar near-field antennameasurement technique

This paper investigates linear spiral sampling for bipolar planar near-field antenna measurements. This sampling scheme is, depending on range implementation, the most rapid polar near-filed data acquisition mode. The near-field to far-field transformation is performed using a modified optimal sampling interpolation (OSI)/fast Fourier transform (FFT) approach. Measured far-field pattern results for a waveguide-fed slot array antenna are presented and are shown to have excellent agreement with results obtained from a conventional bipolar measurement     

Characterization of Real-World Steered-Beam Antennas from Amplitude-Only Near-Field Data

Phase-less near-field techniques are becoming increasingly more important for antenna characterization, due to the growing interest in millimeter-and sub-millimeter-wave applications, where the near-field phase is difficult or even impossible to measure. In this framework, the routine application of phase-less near-field/far-field (NFFF) transformations to real-world operational antennas is a challenging problem, recently questioned in the literature, requiring algorithms capable of providing reliable and accurate results over a large class of radiators. In the present paper, the possibility of applying phase-less near-field techniques for routine testing of antennas is discussed. We point out how -following the recent developments in the field, and by a formulation of the problem based on proper representations of unknowns and data - it is possible to gain the reliability and the accuracy required for this. Experimental tests were carried out on steered-beam antennas, which have lately been pointed out as "difficult" workbenches, to test the feasibility of operational phase-less near-field/far-field transformations. The experimental results refer to a reflectarray radiating a tilted beam, and to a phased array of large electrical dimensions, radiating a scanned beam and actually employed in real-world applications.     

数字阵雷达天线波瓣图测试方法与试验验证

针对固定式相控阵雷达在中场法或远场法中不能实时得到天线波瓣图的问题,提出了采用扫描波瓣图替代天线波瓣图进行天线测试的方法。从理论上分别推导了和波束与差波束扫描波瓣图和天线波瓣图的解析式,研究了单元波瓣图对扫描波瓣图和天线波瓣图的影响,指出了在单元波瓣主瓣范围内扫描波瓣图和天线波瓣图近似等价。仿真和试验结果 均表明:扫描波瓣图和天线波瓣图在各项性能指标上都是等价的,可用于指导雷达总体依据扫描波瓣图对天线进行验收。