Parallel Calibration Method for Phased Array With Harmonic Characteristic Analysis

A novel parallel calibration method for the phased array is proposed and verified. By modulating the phase shifts of the RF channels periodically, their mismatches can be calculated out in parallel by analyzing the harmonic characteristic of the combined calibration signal. There are two main advantages for the proposed method. First, it can be a fast far-field calibration method, which needs no measurement between the calibration source and sink. Second, no auxiliary calibration elements are needed. The calculation amount of the proposed method is mainly the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) at the fundamental and harmonic frequency points. The theory of the proposed calibration method is mathematically deduced. Two numerical simulations are provided to examine its performance. A simple four-channel S-band circuit is constructed and tested to verify its effectiveness.