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A Chebyshev-distributed 1 × 8 beamforming network with improved phase flatness for low sidelobe and consistent beam pointing applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2025

Shuo Li ,
Hongmei Liu Open the ORCID record for Hongmei Liu [Opens in a new window] ,
Yan Zhang  and
Zhongbao Wang Open the ORCID record for Zhongbao Wang [Opens in a new window]
Shuo Li
Affiliation:
School of Information Science and Technology, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China
Hongmei Liu*
Affiliation:
School of Information Science and Technology, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China
Yan Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Information Science and Technology, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China
Zhongbao Wang
Affiliation:
School of Information Science and Technology, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China
*
Corresponding author: Hongmei Liu; Email: lhm323@dlmu.edu.cn
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Abstract

A Chebyshev-distributed 1 × 8 beamforming network with improved phase flatness is presented, where four beams with constant beam pointing and low sidelobe levels (SLL) can be generated. It consists of two arbitrary-amplitude 4 × 4 Blass-like matrices and one 1 × 8 switch control circuit. The newly introduced 4 × 4 Blass-like matrices can obtain arbitrary amplitude and phase differences by adjusting the transmission coefficient and phase of each unit. Besides, four output phase differences can be generated by controlling the 1 × 8 switch control circuit. An example is implemented for validation and phase compensation method is adopted for minimizing the phase difference error within the operated bandwidth to maintain constant beam pointing. Measurements show that the prototype exhibits output amplitude ratios of 0.143:0.341: 0.71:1:1:0.71:0.341:0.143, which fits the Chebyshev distribution. Under the criterion of |S11| < −10 dB, an overlapped fractional bandwidth of 24.1% is obtained. In addition, from 5.5 to 6.1 GHz (10.3%), the maximum amplitude and phase difference errors are 1.5 dB and 15°, respectively. Finally, the proposed network is connected to a 1 × 8 array. Within 10.3% bandwidth, the SLLs of less than −20 dB are realized without beam-pointing deviation.

Keywords

arbitrary output distributionsbeamforming networkBlass-like Matrixconsistent beam pointinglow sidelobe

Information

Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , First View , pp. 1 - 10
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with The European Microwave Association.

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