ELECTRONIC BEAMSTEERING OF ACTIVE ARRAYS WITH PHASE-LOCKED LOOPS

A new electronic beamsteering technique for active arrays is presented along with experimental results at 10 GHz. The technique uses a singl e balanced diode mixer to phase-lock neighboring oscillators in an act ive array. Each oscillator has its own antenna that radiates energy in to free space, so the phase difference between oscillators determines the direction of the main radiating beam. An offset voltage added to t he phase-locked loop controls the phase difference and beam direction. Experimental results demonstrate over 100-degrees of adjustable phase difference between neighboring oscillators. Because of its simplicity , this technique has significant advantages over traditional beamsteer ing arrays.