Improved rotating-element electric-field vector method for fast far-field phased array calibration

We present a fast far-field phased array calibration/beamforming method. An improved version of the rotating-element electric-field vector (REV) method, which is used to calibrate array antennas by measuring the power received at a far-field point while varying the phase of each element, is proposed. Two major improvements were made. First, a simpler algorithm was used to determine the calibration value of the conventional REV method, without disconnecting an antenna element during the calibration process. Second, a solution for a specific case was added for a more accurate categorization to use the correct formula. This improved rotating-element electric-field vector (IREV) is experimentally verified. Curve fitting and sinusoidal regression were used to reduce the number of measurements required for fast calibration/beamforming. Arrays of a 1 × 6 phased array system comprising a 4-bit phase shifter and a 6-bit variable-gain attenuator (VGA) were calibrated using only measurements of the far-field received power. Calibrations were performed when the horn and array antennas were perfectly aligned with each other and when the latter was tilted at an angle of 12° relative to the former.