Enhancing Multi-purpose mmwave System And W-band Antenna In Package Calibration And Measurements

Abstract

The millimeter-wave (mmWave) scanner is a system built a few years ago by the phased array antenna research and development group (PAARD) in the Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC) with the purpose of measuring, characterizing, and calibrating mmWave antennas without significantly changing the setup. The most important reason for developing a multitasking system is to utilize a vector network analyzer (VNA), in many applications. This thesis proposes upgrades to this system, starting with the software, which restricts the system with poor motion flow, and addition of new features to the system that allow faster and reliable measurements. A relevant feature that was added is the calibration and measurement of a W-band active phased array antenna in a package that was manufactured for commercial purposes. Due to the nature of the active element in a phased array antenna, calibration of the system is required for precise and correct performance, which is critical for radio frequency systems. Over-the-air (OTA) calibration is a powerful technique used in phased array antennas in real-world environments. This thesis proposes a novel measurement system to calibrate and characterize the antenna. The system is a multi-axis hybrid system with nine degrees of freedom, used to perform the calibration process and also to scan the antenna radiation pattern in both near-field (NF) and far-field (FF) regions. Experimental results of the calibration method show high precision in the element radiation values, and excellent agreement between the antenna array radiation pattern measured in the near-field and far-field is achieved.