A complete behavioral model of radiation-pattern characteristics of phased array using a novel digital phase shifter
A complete and behavioral model for radiation-pattern characteristic of phased array has been presented. The model has many input parameters and it has a lot of features, such as parameter simulations with results analysis, unconventional two-dimensional color graph representation capability in order to show more clearly the results. It is an optimum instrument to investigate the performance of a beam-former in relation with an analogue phase shifter, ideal digital phase shifter, simulated real phase shifter and measured real phase shifter. Measured values of three different prototype of the proposed phase shifter architecture have been used in order to study the performances of the same architecture.
Visualization of radiation-pattern characteristics of phased arrays using digital phase shifters
This article presents graphical investigations of the array factor of phased arrays with digital phase shifters. A software program, based on basic antenna array theory, has been developed in MATLAB to obtain the main array characteristics (array factor and directivity). The array factors of linear arrays of different sizes with different types of phase shifters have been studied as a function of the number of bits and the frequency. Unconventional two-dimensional color graphical representations are used to identify some characteristics of the array factor of arrays with digital phase shifters that can not be so clearly and quickly visualized with conventional graphical representations. In particular, the effects of quantization on the array factor for arrays of different sizes and for phase shifters with different numbers of bits, over scanning, and frequency ranges, are shown using this representation. Numerous data are also provided.
Array grating lobes due to periodic phase, amplitude, and time delay quantization
Simple approximate formulas and generalized curves to evaluate the grating lobe levels of various kinds of contiguous subarrays with uniform illumination within each subarray are presented. The cases considered include phase quantization due to discrete phase shifters, amplitude taper at subarray input ports and time delay at the subarray input ports. In addition, the work is generalized to include certain cases of quantized phase or time delay at the input ports in addition to amplitude taper at subarray input ports.