Real-time thermal deformation compensation method for active phased array antenna panels

Abstract

The electromagnetic (EM) performance of active phased array antennas (APAAs) is significantly influenced by thermal deformation of the antenna panels caused by thermal power consumption and ambient temperature change. This paper proposes a method to reduce the influence of thermal deformation on the EM performance of small APAAs via real-time compensation. In the proposed method, a thermal deformation prediction model is first constructed based on analysis of experimental data. The model is then used to accurately predict thermal deformation based on the measured values of several key temperature sensors in real time, and the EM performance is compensated by adjusting the array phase difference controlled by a phased shifter according to the predicted results. The results of experiments conducted indicate that the thermal deformation model has high prediction accuracy, and the decrease in EM performance caused by antenna panel thermal deformation is effectively reduced by the proposed method. Thus, the proposed method has positive implications for improving the overall performance of APAAs.