The number of array elements significantly influences the computational complexity of space-borne phased array antenna systems. When the satellite is on-orbit, the performances of space-borne phased array antennas will be easily influenced by the environment and devices aging. Therefore, the space-borne antennas need to be regularly calibrated after satellite is launched. However, the complexity of calibration system increases in direct ratio to the radio frequency (RF) chain number of phased array antenna system. To solve the problem, a low complexity calibration method is proposed, whose system complexity is irrelevant to the number of array elements and calibration time is short. This method is especially suitable for large-scale space-borne phased array antennas. Simulation and experimental results of relative amplitude/phase inaccuracy probability under different SNR illustrate that when the value of SNR is higher than 16dB, the measurement accuracy of relative power (amplitude) and phase can reach ±0.1dB and ±1o, respectively. The simulation and experiment results also provide a significant basis to the link budget of the space-borne phased array antenna systems.
['Shuai Wang', 'Jibo Dai', 'Yujie Lin', 'Xiangyuan Bu']
A Low Complexity Calibration Method for Space-Borne Phased Array Antennas