Compensation of reflector antenna surface distortion using an array feed

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