The Boeing Company

Hughes Aircraft Company

Carl J Hahn, Iii

Arnold L Berman

Paul Christian Werntz

Jeffrey T McCollam

Marvin R Wachs

Daniel S Roukos

Leonard Rosenheck

A near-field test system for a phased array antenna includes a probe, a beam forming network, and a computing system. The probe is disposed at a fixed position in a near-field of the phased array antenna and transmits a test beam toward a fixed location on the phased array. The beam forming network is coupled to the phased array and includes a plurality of phase shifters and a beam summer. The phase shifters steer received beams for each antenna element of the phased array to form a planar wave front. The beam summer is coupled to the phase shifters and combines power of the received beams. The computing system is coupled to the beam forming network and scales combined power of the received beams and generates a virtual spectrum for the phased array antenna from scaled power of the received beams.

System and method for near-field testing of a phased array antenna

A near-field test system for a phased array antenna includes a probe, a beam forming network, and a computing system. The probe is disposed at a fixed position in a near-field of the antenna and is configured to receive at least a portion of a test beam radiated by the antenna. The beam forming network is coupled to the antenna and includes a plurality of phase shifters configured to steer the test beam to a position in the near-field when radiated by an array of antenna elements of the antenna. The computing system is coupled to the probe and is configured to normalize received power of the test beam based on the position of the beam in the near-field relative to the fixed position of the probe, and generate a far-field antenna pattern for the antenna from normalized received power of the test beam.

A communication system including a communication platform, and a downlink communication module connected to the communication platform and having a matrix power amplifier, the matrix power amplifier including an input hybrid matrix, an output hybrid matrix, a bank of high power amplifiers disposed between and in communication with at least the input hybrid matrix and the output hybrid matrix, and a bank of adjusters disposed between and in communication with at least the input hybrid matrix and the output hybrid matrix. The communication system further includes a driver circuit connected to each adjuster in the bank of adjusters, the driver circuit being configured to command each adjuster to modify communication signals, passing through the matrix power amplifier, at time division multiple access rates.

TDMA rate reconfigurable matrix power amplifier and method of communication in a FDMA/TDMA architecture

A communication system including at least one first TDMA high speed switch having a first switch output, a FDMA channelizer, configured to receive an input RF signal from the at least one first TDMA high speed switch, at least one matrix power amplifier having at least one input and at least one output, and at least one second TDMA high speed switch having a second switch input coupled to a respective one of at least one channelizer output and at least one second switch output coupled to a corresponding input of the at least one matrix power amplifier, the at least one second TDMA high speed switch being configured to receive an output RF signal from the FDMA channelizer and transmit the output RF signal to a selected input of the at least one matrix power amplifier, wherein each predetermined output is coupled to a corresponding antenna beam.

FDMA/TDMA architecture using channelizer and matrix power amplifier

A transponder that selectively provides both global and spot beam antenna coverage. The transponder comprises a channel amplifier and an antenna feed network that includes coupler means for coupling energy into a plurality of power distribution networks that feed a plurality of antenna radiating elements that form a beam that illuminates the desired coverage area. A variable power divider is coupled to the amplifier that variably couples power along two channel output paths. Each output path includes a matched bandpass filter and the second output path includes a phase delay circuit. Selective control of the ratio of the power coupled to the respective output paths, and the phase delay provided by the phase delay circuit, provides for selective coupling of the total power provided by the channel amplifier to either the full set, or a selected subset of the antenna elements which generates global and spot beams, respectively. A more complex version is described which additionally incorporates an N-channel multiplexer. The present invention may also be employed as an interface circuit that may be interposed between a transponder channel amplifier and an antenna feed network to retrofit existing transponders to provide for selectable beam coverage.

Transponder with selective antenna beam using shared antenna feed

Linearity and efficiency of a radio frequency multi-stage power amplification device 10 are increased by employing two tuned circuits 16 and 18 in the driver stage 12 and two tuned circuits 22 and 24 in the high power stage 14. After selecting elements of tuned circuits 22 and 24 in order to optimize the high power stage 14 for efficiency, linearity, and power output, elements are selected for tuned circuits 16 and 18 in order to cause the intermodulation output components associated with the driver state 12 to have a 180.degree. phase angle relative to the intermodulation output components associated with the high power stage 14. This phase angle relationship will cause the intermodulation output component products from the driver 12 and high power stages 14 to cancel.

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Inglewood, CA, United States of America

Carl J Hahn, Iii