A phased array calibration technique using eigenstructure methods

Abstract

An eigenstructure-based method for direction finding in the presence of angularly dependent sensor phase and gain perturbations is presented. One application for this technique is the calibration of a radar array degraded by mutual coupling effects. The method simultaneously computes an estimate of the angle of arrival of a single source and calibrates the array for that specific angle. A calibration curve for a range of angles is derived by using polynomial interpolation to fit a small set of measured calibration points. Since the technique is a variation of the MUSIC processor for angle estimation, it is applicable to both uniform and nonuniform linear array configurations.<>