Distributed phased array architecture study

Abstract

Variations in amplifiers and phase shifters can cause degraded antenna performance, depending also on the environmental conditions and antenna array architecture. The implementation of distributed phased array hardware was studied with the aid of the DISTAR computer program as a simulation tool. This simulation provides guidance in hardware simulation. Both hard and soft failures of the amplifiers in the T/R modules are modeled. Hard failures are catastrophic: no power is transmitted to the antenna elements. Noncatastrophic or soft failures are modeled as a modified Gaussian distribution. The resulting amplitude characteristics then determine the array excitation coefficients. The phase characteristics take on a uniform distribution. Pattern characteristics such as antenna gain, half power beamwidth, mainbeam phase errors, sidelobe levels, and beam pointing errors were studied as functions of amplifier and phase shifter variations. General specifications for amplifier and phase shifter tolerances in various architecture configurations for C band and S band were determined.