Applikasi dari phase array antenna

Phased array antenna adalah sarana pengendali listrik dari fisik antena
agar dapat seimbang. Konsep ini bisa menghilangkan gangguan pada
sistem radar. Ini bisa menjaga antena terkunci ke satelit ketika antena
terpasang pada tem pat bergerak. It is what allows a satellite to steer
its beam around your continent without having to deal with the "slight
problem" associated with trying to point things in space where every
movement would require an equal and opposite mass to move in order
to keep the satellite stabilized. A phased array receiver can be flushmounted on the top of a commercial airplane's fuselage so that all of
the happy passengers can receive satellite television!

Patriot radar, image from Wikipedia.com

Above is an image of a well-known phased-array antenna, the radar for
the Patriot missile. What does the acronym "Patriot" stand for? Phased
array track to intercept of target. It replaced the "homing all-the way
killer", or Hawk missile. There's some trivia you won't learn on
Wikipedia!!!
So far there are not many consumer applications of phased arrays. This
is because they can be quite expensive, due to the need for many
microwave phase shifters and their control signals. On top of the phase
shifter expense, phased arrays usually need a low noise amplifier at
each element for receive, and a power amp at each element for
transmit. One consumer market that is developing for phase arrays is
satellite television for vehicles such as RVs. For a couple thousand
dollars, your kids can now watch eight Disney channels, while you tour
the painted desert in your Winnebago. Life is good, especially if it
appears on a small screen! Of course, the main driver for all
developments in consumer technology is pornography, in this case,
now you and your date can watch pay-per-view flicks on the Playboy
channel from the comfort of your recreational vehicle!
The physics behind phased arrays are such that the antenna is bidirectional, that is, they will achieve the same steerable pattern in
transmit as well as receive. In many applications, both transmit and
receive systems are needed; the solution to this problem is known as
the transmit/receive module (T/R module), which will be the subject for
another day.

Definitions and acronyms

First let's define a few terms and acronyms (which we'll also put in the
Microwaves101 acronym dictionary):
ESA: electronically steered array (as opposed to a mechanically
steered array or MSA)
AESA: electronically steered array
PESA: passive electronically steered array
AOA: angle of arrival, also known as the look angle
ULA: uniform linear array
UCA: uniform circular array

UGA: uniform grid array

Antennas for phased arrays

Phase shifters are mostly used in phased array antennas (radar
systems). It is well worth it to step a bit back to have a closer look on
the antenna aspect.
An antenna should be viewed as a matching network that takes the
power from a transmission line (50 impedance, for example), and
matches it to the free space "impedance" of 377 . The most critical
parameter is the change of VSWR (voltage standing-wave ratio) with
frequency. The pattern usually does not vary much from acceptable to
the start of unacceptable VSWRs (> 2:1). For a given physical antenna
geometric size, the actual radiation pattern varies with frequency.
The antenna pattern depicted in Figure 1 is for a dipole. The maximum
gain is normalized to the outside of the polar plot and the major
divisions correspond to 10 dB change. In this example, the dipole
length (in wavelengths) is varied, but the same result can be obtained
by changing frequency with a fixed dipole length. From the figure, it
can be seen that side lobes start to form at 1.25 and the side lobe
actually has more gain than the main beam at 1.5 . Since the
radiation pattern changes with frequency, the gain also changes.

Figure 1. Frequency effects

Array effects
Figure 2 depicts phase/array effects, which are yet another method for
obtaining varied radiation patterns. In the figure, parallel dipoles are
viewed from the end. It can be seen that varying the phase of the two
transmissions can cause the direction of the radiation pattern to
change. This is the concept behind phased array antennas. Instead of
having a system mechanically sweeping the direction of the antenna
through space, the phase of radiating components is varied
electronically, producing a moving pattern with no moving parts. It can
also be seen that increasing the number of elements further increases
the directivity of the array. In an array, the pattern does vary
considerably with frequency due to element spacing (measured in
wavelengths) and the frequency sensitivity of the phase shifting
networks.
Note: we've had a number of comments on an apparent mistake in this
figure. Instead of fixing the figure, we'll tell you what's wrong with it
according to Tom:
" I was looking at the section titled "Phased Antenna Arrays" and
noticed a possible mistake with the middle drawing in Figure 2. The
radiation pattern shown for 1/2 wave spaced antennas fed 90 degrees
out of phase is actually the pattern of 1/4 wave spaced antennas fed
90 degrees out of phase.
The critical variable left out of the section on "Phased Array Antennas"
was the influence of antenna spacing on the array's pattern. Given a
ULA (uniform linear array), in broadside mode, the pattern is always
symmetrical (figure 8 shaped) for any element spacing. Spacings at
even multiples of 1/4 wavelength are also symmetrical in the endfire
direction. Spacings at odd intervals of 1/4 wavelength are asymmetric
in endfire mode gradually progressing to be symmetric as the element
phasing rotates the beam around to broadside mode."
From another antenna guy Justin:
"He's right. That figure is wrong:
k*d = pi for half-wave spacing
To steer a half-wave spaced array out to end-fire you need a 180 phase
shift:
necessary phase shift = k*d sin(theta) = pi*sin(90) = pi = 180 degrees

Those NASA guys don't know squat!"

(The original figure came from NASA...)

Figure 2. Phase/array effects

A linear phased array with equal spaced elements is easiest to analyze
and forms the basis for most array designs. Figure 3 schematically
illustrates a corporate feed linear array with element spacing d. It is
the simplest and is still widely used. By controlling the phase and
amplitude of excitation to each element, as depicted, we can control
the direction and shape of the beam radiated by the array. The phase
excitation, (n), controls the beam pointing angle, 0, in a phased array.
To produce a broadside beam, 0=0, requires phase excitation, <(n) =
0. Other scan angles require an excitation, (n) = nkd sin ( 0), for the
nth element where k is the wave number (2 / ). In this manner a linear
phased array can radiate a beam in any scan direction, 0, provided
the element pattern has sufficient beamwidth. The amplitude
excitation, An, can be used to control beam shape and sidelobe levels.
Often the amplitude excitation is tapered in a manner similar to that
used for aperture antennas to reduce the sidelobe levels. One of the
problems that can arise with a phased array is insufficient bandwidth,

since the phase shift usually is not obtained through the introduction of
additional path length. However, it should be noted that at broadside
the corporate feed does have equal path length and would have good
bandwidth for this scan angle.

Figure 3. Corporate fed phased array

Diamond versus square lattice

Coming soon!

How to avoid grating lobes

Elements must be spaced properly in order to avoid grating lobes. The
equation for maximum spacing is a function of wavelength of operation
and maximum look angle:

Thus for a 30 degree look angle, dmax is (2/3)xlambda, while for a 60

degree look angle, dmax is 0.54 lambda.

Calculating antenna gain in a phased array

Gain in a phased array is both a function of the individual element gain
and the number of elements. The aperture gain is calculated by:

Here's a Microwaves101 rule of thumb contributed by Glenn:

The number of elements required in an electronically-scanning phased
array antenna can be estimated by the gain it must provide. A 30 dB
gain array needs about 1000 elements and a 20 dB gain array needs
about 100.
The gain of the individual elements is a function of what radiator is
used. This is a case where you don't want the element to have too
much gain, because the entire idea behind a phased array is that you
want to maximize scan volume; you don't want system gain to rapidly
drop off as you move away from broadside due to the element pattern.
In practice, most radiators used in phased arrays provide about six dB
gain.