A phase calibration method of active phased array antennas for satellite communication

An active phased array antenna consists of many channels. Each channel has a different initial phase shift and gain because of the inequality in the active circuits themselves, interface between radiators and active circuits, and beam-forming circuits and other antenna system configurations. This raises an inherent problem in active phased array antennas. To compensate for this problem the initial phase and gain of each channel should be calibrated. This paper presents an efficient calibration method for an initial phase variation of each channel in active phased array antennas. We tested our method in an active phased array antenna, and obtained good results in the radiation pattern and beam direction of antenna.