CN111865448B

CN111865448B - Phased array antenna testing method and computer readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN111865448B
Application number: CN201910354536.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 漆一宏; 于伟
Original assignee: GENERAL TEST SYSTEMS Inc
Current assignee: GENERAL TEST SYSTEMS Inc
Priority date: 2019-04-29
Filing date: 2019-04-29
Publication date: 2023-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 2039-04-29
Also published as: CN111865448A

Abstract

The invention discloses a phased array antenna test system and a phased array antenna test method, wherein the phased array antenna test system comprises: the antenna array comprises at least two test antennas and an isolation material, and is used for performing near-field test within a preset distance of a phased array antenna to be tested; the antenna array and the phased array antenna are arranged in the microwave darkroom; the instrument comprises a channel simulator and a multipath signal transceiver, and the instrument is connected with an antenna array and a phased array antenna and used for testing the phased array antenna in cooperation with the antenna array. According to the test system provided by the embodiment of the invention, the phased array antenna can be tested, the applicability and the practicability of the test are effectively improved, and the system-level test requirement is effectively met.

Description

Phased array antenna testing method and computer readable storage medium

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of wireless communication, in particular to a phased array antenna testing system and a phased array antenna testing method.

Background

Phased array antennas can be used to achieve the purpose of beam scanning by controlling the phase of the feed amplitude of the radiating elements in the array antenna to change the pattern shape of the entire array antenna, a so-called beamforming technique. The phased array antenna adopts the digital phase shifter to realize high-speed electric control scanning of antenna beams, has high speed and high precision, and is widely applied to communication radars, base stations and the like of vehicles, ships, satellites and the like.

Phased array antennas consist of a multi-channel array antenna, each element of the array antenna corresponding to a radio frequency path. A typical phased array antenna is shown in fig. 1 and specifically includes array antenna, T/R (Transmitter and Receiver) components, up-down conversion, and digital processing.

With the advent of 5G, phased array antennas were used in a large number of applications at base stations. The implementation of massive MIMO (multiple input multiple output, multiple-input multiple-output system) and beamforming techniques relies on phased array antennas. To guarantee 5G communication quality and control electromagnetic pollution, the international standard organization 3GPP (3 rd Generation Partnership Project, third generation partnership project) has set forth a series of white papers to standardize performance tests of phased array antennas on base stations, including testing radiation patterns, output power, transmission signal quality, in-band pollution, transmitter intermodulation, reference sensitivity levels, in-band blocking, receive intermodulation, etc. of phased array antennas in an Over The Air (OTA) state, and related index requirements are given in the standard 3GPP 38141.

The 3GPP divides the current 5G base station phased array antenna into 3 major categories according to test requirements: BS Type 1-C: only conducting index test is needed, and the type of the conducting index test does not belong to the implementation object of the invention; BS Type 1-H: a need for conducting and OTA index testing, this type of base station phased array antenna can be represented using fig. 2; wherein the conduction test side is TAB (transceiver array boundary connector: transceiver array boundary connector) labeled in FIG. 9 below, and the OTA test side is RIB (radiation interface boundary: radiated interface boundary) labeled in FIG. 9 below; BS Type 1-O and BS Type2-O: only OTA index testing is required, this type of phased array antenna is shown in fig. 3. Where the OTA test end is the RIB (radiated interface boundary, radiation interface boundary) labeled in fig. 10. An example of such a base station phased array antenna is a 5G millimeter wave phased array antenna, and because of the high operating frequency, small devices, and often no radio frequency on-board TAB, OTA testing is the primary means of detecting performance. The OTA test index is specified in 3GPP standard 3GPP TS 38104,3GPP TS 38141-1,3GPP TS 38141-2, and includes transmit power, sensitivity, transmit signal quality, and the like. Taking sensitivity as an example, a specific test procedure and procedure are as follows. The test environment may be represented using fig. 4. The tested piece base station phased array antenna is placed in a far-field darkroom, and the test antenna is connected with the signal generator and used for generating a test signal for sensitivity test. The test flow is as follows: placing a base station phased array antenna in a darkroom; aligning the coordinate system and the placement position; aligning the test direction; aligning polarization; configuring beam pointing of a base station phased array antenna; configuring a base station phased array antenna transmit beam and other test settings; setting a signal generator test configuration; setting the calibration power of the signal generator; testing radio frequency performance, communication protocol performance and the like; the process is repeated for each angle by 3 to 9.

However, none of these standards relates to phased array antenna system level test specifications and methods, particularly phased array antenna performance testing operating in a massive MIMO state. Specifically, the phased array antenna in the base station is in actual operation in link communication with a plurality of users, as shown in fig. 2.

In the use environment of fig. 5, the performance of the phased array antenna in the base station depends not only on the individual criteria to be tested in the standard (radiation pattern, output power, transmission signal quality, in-band contamination, transmitter intermodulation, reference sensitivity level, in-band blocking, receive intermodulation, etc.), but also on the phased array antenna system level criteria. The phased array antenna system index in the base station is mainly radio frequency resource management (Radio resource management, radio frequency resource management), which is system level management of co-channel interference, radiation resources and other radiation transmission characteristics in the wireless communication system. RRM contains strategies and algorithms for controlling parameters such as transmit power, user allocation, beamforming, digital transmission rate, switching criteria, debug mode, error coding scheme, etc., to achieve as efficient and practical limited spectrum resources as possible.

In the related art, the performance test of the base station phased array antenna has the following defects:

the indexes of the specified test in the 3GPP standard are limited and only comprise radiation pattern, output power, transmission signal quality, in-band pollution, transmitter intermodulation, reference sensitivity level, in-band blocking, receiving intermodulation and the like

2. The existing test indexes do not aim at performance test indexes of the phased array antenna of the base station under the actual working scene, namely under the condition that the base station carries out link communication with a plurality of users at the same time, and particularly, the performance test of the phased array antenna working in a passive MIMO state is not carried out. As shown in fig. 5. The indexes belong to phased array antenna system level test indexes, and particularly comprise test indexes in a passive MIMO (multiple input multiple output system: multiple input multiple output) working mode and a beam forming working mode, such as strategies and algorithms for controlling parameters of transmitting power, user allocation, beam forming, digital transmission rate, switching standards, debugging modes, error coding schemes and the like in RRM, transmitting power allocation algorithms, beam forming strategies, dynamic beam forming modes, overall radiation performance evaluation and the like. The system-level test index is a real wireless performance index reflecting the base station phased array antenna in an actual working scene, and has important knowing significance for the base station network distribution layout, research and development production.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems in the related art to some extent.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a phased array antenna testing system, which can effectively improve the applicability and practicality of the test and effectively meet the system-level testing requirements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a phased array antenna testing method.

It is yet another object of the present invention to propose a computer readable storage medium.

To achieve the above object, in one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a phased array antenna testing system, including: the antenna array comprises at least two test antennas and an isolation material, and is used for performing near-field test within a preset distance of a phased array antenna to be tested; the antenna array and the phased array antenna are arranged in the microwave darkroom; the instrument comprises a channel simulator and a multipath signal transceiver, and the instrument is connected with the antenna array and the phased array antenna and is used for testing the phased array antenna in cooperation with the antenna array.

According to the phased array antenna test system provided by the embodiment of the invention, under an OTA test mode, a radiation two-step method is adopted, so that the phased array antenna can be tested, not only can the test of the index specified in the 3GPP standard be performed, but also the system-level index of the phased array antenna under the actual working scene, especially under the passive MIMO state, can be tested and evaluated, the truest working environment and the whole wireless performance of the phased array antenna can be reflected, the test applicability and the test practicability can be effectively improved, and the system-level test requirement can be effectively met.

In addition, the phased array antenna testing system according to the above embodiment of the present invention may further have the following additional technical features:

further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna array is a dual polarized antenna array, the dual polarized antenna array including at least two dual polarized measurement antennas and an isolation material, each of the at least two dual polarized measurement antennas having two antenna elements disposed to cross each other, wherein the antenna elements include: the first radiation piece is internally provided with a first accommodating cavity, and the cavity body of the first accommodating cavity penetrates through the first end and the second end of the first radiation piece; the first end of the second radiating element is not connected with the first end of the first radiating element, and the second end of the second radiating element is electrically connected with the second end of the first radiating element; the first end of the balance piece is electrically connected with the second end of the second radiation piece; the feed piece, the feed piece skew antenna element center preset distance and with the setting of balancing piece corresponds, wherein, the feed piece includes: the outer core is internally provided with a second accommodating cavity, the cavity body of the second accommodating cavity penetrates through the first end of the outer core and the second end of the outer core, and the first end of the outer core is electrically connected with the second end of the first radiating piece; the inner core penetrates through the first accommodating cavity and the cavity of the second accommodating cavity, and the first end of the inner core penetrates out of the first end of the first radiating element and is in coupling connection with the second radiating element.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the dual polarized test antenna is inserted into the top of the isolation material or the dual polarized test antenna is inserted into the bottom of the receiving cavity formed by the isolation material.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: and the tuner is connected with the second end of the outer core of the feed piece and the second end of the inner core.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: and a mobile station, wherein at least one of the dual polarized antenna array and the phased array antenna is arranged on the mobile station.

Alternatively, in one embodiment of the present invention, the preset distance may be less than or equal to 10cm or twice the wavelength.

In order to achieve the above objective, another embodiment of the present invention provides a phased array antenna testing method, which adopts the above system, wherein the method includes the following steps: selecting an equal number of the test antennas and the antennas under test of the phased array antenna; controlling the port of the channel simulator and the port of the selected antenna to be tested of the phased array antenna to form one-to-one signal transmission; and controlling the channel simulator to form a test signal through operation, and feeding the test signal into a corresponding receiving end to perform corresponding test.

According to the phased array antenna testing method, under an OTA testing mode, a radiation two-step method is adopted, the phased array antenna can be tested, not only can the indexes specified in the 3GPP standard be tested, but also the system-level indexes of the phased array antenna which work in a real working scene, especially in a massive MIMO state, can be tested and evaluated, the truest working environment and the whole wireless performance of the phased array antenna are reflected, the testing applicability and the practicability are effectively improved, and the system-level testing requirement is effectively met.

In addition, the phased array antenna testing method according to the above embodiment of the present invention may further have the following additional technical features:

further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the controlling the port of the channel simulator and the port of the antenna under test of the selected phased array antenna form a one-to-one signal transmission, further includes: and loading port signals of the test antenna or the test signals into a radio frequency matrix module for processing, and reducing cross coupling of non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna so that one-to-one signal transmission is formed between the port of the channel simulator and the port of the selected tested antenna of the phased array antenna.

Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the controlling the port of the channel simulator and the port of the antenna under test of the selected phased array antenna form a one-to-one signal transmission, further includes: and adjusting the physical distance between the selected test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna, and reducing the cross coupling of a non-corresponding channel between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna so that the channel simulator port and the tested antenna port of the selected phased array antenna form one-to-one signal transmission.

Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the controlling the port of the channel simulator and the port of the antenna under test of the selected phased array antenna form a one-to-one signal transmission, further includes: and adjusting the physical distance between the selected test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna, loading the test antenna port signals or the test signals into a radio frequency matrix module for processing, and reducing cross coupling of non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna so that one-to-one signal transmission is formed between the channel simulator port and the selected tested antenna port of the phased array antenna.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, after forming the one-to-one signal transmission, the method further includes: and receiving the signal processed by the loaded radio frequency matrix module through a port of the channel simulator so as to generate a test signal.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, after forming the one-to-one signal transmission, the method further includes: and receiving the test antenna port signal through a port of the channel simulator to generate a test signal.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving end is a multipath signal transceiver, and the test is a downlink test.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, after forming the one-to-one signal transmission, the method further includes: the multi-channel signal transceiver port signal is received through a channel simulator port to generate a test signal.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, after generating the test signal, the method further includes: and loading the test signals into a radio frequency matrix module for processing so as to perform corresponding tests.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving end is the test antenna, and the test is an uplink test.

Additionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, when performing the corresponding test, further comprising: and performing the uplink test or the downlink test of the test independently, or performing the uplink test and the downlink test of the test simultaneously.

To achieve the above object, an embodiment of a further aspect of the present invention provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements a phased array antenna testing method as described in the above embodiment.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The foregoing and/or additional aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a phased array antenna of the related art;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of BS Type 1-H of the related art;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of related art BS Type 1-O and BS Type 2-O;

FIG. 4 is a related art 3GPP specified base station phased array antenna sensitivity test environment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a phased array antenna and multi-user link of the related art;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a phased array antenna testing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a real operating environment of a phased array antenna in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 8 is a real signal transmission schematic of a phased array antenna according to one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of a dual polarized test antenna and antenna element according to one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of an isolation material and dual polarized test antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a phased array antenna testing system according to one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a phased array antenna testing system according to another embodiment of the invention;

fig. 13 is a flow chart of a phased array antenna testing method according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 14 is a flow chart of a phased array antenna testing method according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a signal propagation matrix according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a signal propagation matrix according to another embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a virtual wire according to one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 18 is a flow chart of a phased array antenna testing method according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the isolation of corresponding channels according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 20 is a flow chart of a phased array antenna testing method according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 is a flow chart of a test-in-system-level test according to one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 22 is a flow chart of a phased array antenna testing method according to one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 23 is a flow chart of a phased array antenna testing method according to one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 24 is a flow chart of a phased array antenna testing method according to one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 25 is a flow chart of a phased array antenna testing method according to one embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to like or similar elements or elements having like or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative and intended to explain the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

The phased array antenna testing system and the testing method according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and first, the phased array antenna testing system according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a phased array antenna testing system according to an embodiment of the invention.

As shown in fig. 6, the phased array antenna test system includes: antenna array 100, microwave camera 200, and meter 300.

The antenna array 100 includes at least two test antennas (as shown by test antenna 101) and an isolation material 102, where the at least two test antennas are disposed opposite to the antenna under test 11 of the phased array antenna 10 to be tested, so as to form one-to-one transmission and air interface direct connection, unlike the prior art in which the tested piece is directly placed on the coupling plate, so as to perform the near field test within a preset distance of the phased array antenna 10 to be tested. The antenna array 100 and the phased array antenna 10 are disposed in a microwave darkroom 200. The meter 300 includes a channel simulator and a multi-channel signal transceiver, and the meter 300 is connected to the antenna array 100 and the phased array antenna 10 for testing the phased array antenna 10 in cooperation with the antenna array 100. The test system provided by the embodiment of the invention can test the phased array antenna, effectively improves the applicability and practicality of the test, and effectively meets the system-level test requirement.

It should be noted that, the above-mentioned arrangement of at least two measuring antennas opposite to the measured antenna of the phased array antenna 10 to be calibrated may be understood as a one-to-one correspondence in position or a one-to-one correspondence in polarization, and the physical distance between the measured antenna and the measuring antenna is small (which will be described in detail below), so that the measured antenna and the measuring antenna have no corresponding relationship of directivity, unlike the directional corresponding relationship in the prior art. That is, the embodiments of the present invention use a physical isolation method (such as a one-to-one correspondence between positions and polarizations, where the physical distance between the measurement antenna and the antenna to be measured is small, and isolation materials are added, and an opening method of the measurement antenna (all open at the same time, or open sequentially, or open partially each time, or open all polarizations or a certain polarization at the same time, or select a partial polarization each time), so as to control the port of the channel simulator and the port of the antenna to be measured of the selected phased array antenna to form a one-to-one signal transmission.

In addition, the isolation material can be a material with isolation property such as a wave absorbing material, a dielectric material and the like, for example, the isolation material can be a wave absorbing material (such as a sponge wave absorbing material, an EPP carbon powder wave absorbing material, a ceramic thin material and the like) for an OTA darkroom, and can also be a ferrite material, the isolation material is not particularly limited herein, and the isolation material, the measuring antenna and the measured antenna can be arranged in a one-to-one opposite manner, so that energy is saved and cost is reduced under the condition of ensuring measurement accuracy.

Wherein in one embodiment of the invention, the preset distance may be less than or equal to 10cm or twice the wavelength. Specifically, the distance between the measuring antenna and the measured antenna in the prior art is larger, and the distance is basically larger than 1 meter, so that the measurement is limited to far field measurement, but the near field calibration measurement can be realized by the embodiment of the invention, and the measurement is not limited to far field measurement, and more accurate test can be performed on near field measurement such as near field measurement of 2-3 cm.

It should be noted that, the measurement antenna may use a dual-polarized measurement antenna, a single-polarized measurement antenna, a circular-polarized measurement antenna, or the like, or may be an autonomous development antenna, and each measurement antenna may be turned on the same or different polarizations (if different polarizations are used). Although the following embodiments take dual polarized measurement antennas as examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any measurement antenna may be configured in a similar manner as follows.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 9, the antenna array 100 is a dual polarized antenna array 100, the dual polarized antenna array 100 includes at least two dual polarized measurement antennas (as shown by dual polarized measurement antenna 101 and dual polarized measurement antenna 102 in the figure) and an isolation material 103, each of the at least two dual polarized measurement antennas has two antenna elements disposed to intersect each other, wherein the antenna elements include: the first radiating member 400, the second radiating member 500, the balance member 600, and the feeding member 700. And, the power feeding member 700 includes: an outer core 701 and an inner core 702.

Specifically, the first radiation member 400 internally forms a first accommodating cavity a, and a cavity of the first accommodating cavity a penetrates through the first end 401 and the second end 402 of the first radiation member 400. The first end 501 of the second radiator 500 is not connected to the first end 401 of the first radiator 400, and the second end 502 of the second radiator 500 is electrically connected to the second end 402 of the first radiator 400. The first end 601 of the balance member 600 is electrically connected to the second end 502 of the second radiator 500. The feeding member 700 is disposed at a preset distance away from the center of the antenna unit and corresponds to the balance member 600, wherein a second receiving cavity B is formed inside the outer core 701, a cavity of the second receiving cavity B penetrates through a first end of the outer core 701 and a second end of the outer core, a first end 7011 of the outer core 701 is electrically connected to a second end 402 of the first radiation member 400, and an inner core 702 penetrates through cavities of the first receiving cavity a and the second receiving cavity B, and a first end 7021 of the inner core 702 penetrates out of the first end 401 of the first radiation member 400 and is coupled to the second radiation member 500. The antenna unit provided by the embodiment of the invention can effectively meet the miniaturization requirement of the combined antenna, and is beneficial to the design of the dual-polarized antenna.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 7 and 8, the phased array antenna operates in a complex electromagnetic environment of multi-user, multi-path, doppler, etc. Typically, one phased array antenna serves a plurality of wireless terminals, and signals are transmitted between the phased array antenna and the plurality of wireless terminals, and in order to test and evaluate the system-level wireless performance of the phased array antenna in the above-described real operating environment, the test system of the embodiment of the present invention has a meter 300, and the meter 300 includes a channel simulator and a multi-channel signal transceiver. The multipath signal transceiver may be used to simulate and construct multiple wireless terminals in the real working environment of the phased array antenna 10, simulate the condition that the multiple wireless terminals simultaneously perform link communication with the phased array antenna 10, and cooperate with a channel simulator (for simulating the real phased array antenna usage scenario), a dual-polarized antenna array 100 and other test system components to perform system-level test of the real working environment of the phased array antenna. It should be noted that the test system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes, but is not limited to, a downlink test and an uplink test. Wherein the uplink and downlink tests include, but are not limited to, uplink radio frequency performance (e.g., throughput rate) and communication protocol performance (e.g., beamforming algorithm and internal resource management algorithm) tests and downlink radio frequency performance (e.g., throughput rate) and communication protocol performance (e.g., beamforming algorithm and internal resource management algorithm) tests.

The antenna unit according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to fig. 9.

(1) In the related art, the antenna feeding mode is usually electrically connected, the length of the antenna is about one half wavelength of the central working frequency, the size is large, and the antenna miniaturization requirement is difficult to meet.

The inner core 702 of the antenna unit feeding member 700 and the second radiating member 500 of the embodiment of the present invention adopt coupling connection for feeding, so that the size of the antenna of the embodiment of the present invention can be reduced to one tenth wavelength, and the impedance matching performance of the antenna is good, and the RCS (Radar-Cross Section) of the antenna is further reduced, thereby improving the calibration measurement accuracy.

(2) In the related art, in order to suppress common mode current by using a voltage balun, the feeding part coaxial lines of the two antennas are all required to be arranged in the middle of the antennas, in this case, when the dual-polarized antenna is formed by using the crossed arrangement of the two antennas, the two feeding part coaxial lines are overlapped in the center, and two overlapped feeding part coaxial lines cannot be placed in the same position structurally. But if the feeding part of the coaxial line is moved from the middle to the side, the feeding imbalance is aggravated again, so that a common mode current is generated. Therefore, it is difficult to design a dual polarized antenna for the existing antenna.

However, the feeding member 700 of the antenna unit according to the embodiment of the present invention adopts an offset design, that is, the feeding member 700 is designed at the side of the center of the antenna, and the design can make the two feeding members mutually staggered when the two antenna units are disposed in a crossing manner, which is beneficial to the design of the dual polarized antenna. Meanwhile, as can be seen from analysis of the cause of the common mode current, the unbalance of the feed structure is the root cause of the common mode current, and in the related art, although the common mode current can be reduced by designing the feed at the center of the antenna to form a voltage balun, the complete structural symmetry of the outer core and the inner core of the feed is difficult to realize, so that the common mode current still occurs in operation of the feed. The antenna unit of the embodiment of the invention firstly proposes to achieve the purpose of basically eliminating the generation of common mode current by improving the structural symmetry of the feeding piece, namely, arranging the balance piece 600 to be matched with the feeding piece 700 so as to form balun, and simultaneously improving the symmetry and balance of the feeding piece, so that the feeding piece generates extremely small common mode current in operation, the purpose of basically eliminating the common mode current is achieved (the common mode current is extremely small and can be ignored from the engineering practice perspective), and the radiation performance of the dual-polarized measurement antenna is improved, thereby improving the calibration measurement precision.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the dual polarized measurement antenna is inserted into the top of the isolation material 103 as shown in fig. 10, or the dual polarized measurement antenna is inserted into the bottom of the receiving cavity formed by the isolation material 103.

It will be appreciated that the dual polarized measurement antenna of the present invention may be co-designed with the isolation material 103 as shown in fig. 10. Among other things, by adding the spacer material 103, the following advantages can be achieved:

1) The isolation material 103 may further counteract common mode currents that may be generated by the dual polarized measurement antenna;

2) The isolation material 103 can further reduce reflection between the dual-polarized measuring antenna and the measured antenna, and improve the accuracy of measurement;

3) The isolation material 103 can enable the Radar Cross Section (RCS) of the dual-polarized measurement antenna to be small, improve the isolation between the antennas, improve the isolation between the dual-polarized measurement antenna and a non-opposite antenna to be measured, reduce the measurement distance between the dual-polarized measurement antenna and the antenna to be measured, and effectively improve the measurement accuracy.

Specifically, when the dual-polarized measuring antenna is inserted into the top of the isolation material 103, the space scattering of electromagnetic waves of the antenna can be reduced, and when the dual-polarized measuring antenna is inserted into the bottom of the accommodating cavity formed by the isolation material 103, the height of the antenna can be adjusted to adapt to measurement requirements with different requirements, meanwhile, the isolation between the antennas can be improved, the test distance between the measured antenna and the dual-polarized measuring antenna can be shortened, and the measurement accuracy can be improved.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 11, the dual polarized test antenna further includes: tuner 800. Wherein tuner 800 connects the second end of outer core 701 and the second end of inner core 702 of feed element 700.

It will be appreciated that the dual polarized test antenna of the embodiments of the present invention may be added with a tuner 800. Wherein each antenna unit of the dual polarization test antenna is respectively connected with a tuner. Because the dual-polarized test antenna has smaller size and resonates at a single frequency point, standing waves in a broadband are poor, the performance of the dual-polarized test antenna is affected, and if the dual-polarized test antenna is applied to the broadband, the tuner 800 is required to adjust the standing waves of the dual-polarized test antenna at the frequency of use.

Specifically, the tuner 800 of the embodiment of the present invention may adopt an electronic tuning mode, where two impedance matching networks with variable capacitors are added at the interface of the dual-polarized test antenna, and the two matching modules are connected to the dual-polarized test antenna and other circuits by using a switching mode. When the frequency of the receiving and transmitting signals is changed, the detection module is used for detecting the impedance, standing waves and other information of the dual-polarized test antenna, and the control module is used for changing the value of the variable capacitor, so that automatic tuning is realized, the impedance of the antenna is maintained to be near 50 ohms, and the energy loss is reduced. The tuner 800 may be placed behind the isolation material and thus has no effect on the radiation performance of the dual polarized test antenna.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 12, the test system of the embodiment of the present invention further includes: mobile station 900. At least one of dual polarized antenna array 100 and phased array antenna 10 is provided on a mobile station.

As shown in fig. 12, the phased array antenna system level test system according to an embodiment of the present invention further comprises a mobile station 900. Dual polarized antenna array 100 may be provided on the inner wall of microwave darkroom 200, on mobile station 900, or on a fixed loading mechanism (not movable); the phased array antenna 10 may be provided on the mobile station 900 or on a fixed loading mechanism. Wherein the high precision moving turret can move along any coordinate position including, but not limited to, along the three main coordinate axes X, Y, Z.

It should be noted that, when the mobile station 900 is configured to perform a system level test, the physical distance between the dual-polarized antenna array 100 and the phased array antenna 10 may be adjusted, so as to implement physical isolation, improve the isolation of the corresponding channel between the dual-polarized test antenna and the measured antenna of the phased array antenna 10, and enable the port of the channel simulator and the measured port of the selected phased array antenna 10 to form one-to-one signal transmission.

According to the phased array antenna test system provided by the embodiment of the invention, under an OTA test mode, a radiation two-step method is adopted, so that the phased array antenna can be tested, not only can the test of the index specified in the 3GPP standard be performed, but also the system-level index of the phased array antenna under the actual working scene, especially under the massive MIMO state, can be tested and evaluated, the truest working environment and the overall wireless performance of the phased array antenna can be reflected, the test applicability and the test practicability can be effectively improved, and the system-level test requirement can be effectively met.

Next, a phased array antenna testing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 13 is a flow chart of phased array antenna testing of an embodiment of the invention.

As shown in fig. 13, the phased array antenna measurement method adopts the system, and comprises the following steps:

in step S1, an equal number of test antennas and antennas under test of the phased array antenna are selected.

In step S2, the port of the control channel simulator forms a one-to-one signal transmission with the port of the antenna under test of the selected phased array antenna.

In step S3, the control channel simulator forms a test signal by operation, and feeds the test signal into a corresponding receiving end to perform a corresponding test.

It should be noted that the tests include, but are not limited to, uplink radio frequency performance (such as throughput rate) and communication protocol performance (such as beamforming algorithm and internal resource management algorithm) tests, and downlink radio frequency performance (such as throughput rate) and communication protocol performance (such as beamforming algorithm and internal resource management algorithm) tests.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 14, the port of the control channel simulator forms a one-to-one signal transmission with the port of the antenna under test of the selected phased array antenna, and further includes: and loading port signals of the test antenna or the test signals into the radio frequency matrix module for processing, and reducing cross coupling of non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna so that the port of the channel simulator and the port of the tested antenna of the selected phased array antenna form one-to-one signal transmission.

In particular, phased array antennas and antenna arrays generate a signal propagation matrix in the actual signal transmission to each other, which is unavoidable. The signal propagation matrix is shown in fig. 15. The measured antenna of each phased array antenna is provided with two antenna units, and two polarizations are respectively corresponding to the measured antenna units; each test antenna has two antenna elements corresponding to two polarizations.

When the antenna unit of any test antenna is radiating, all the antenna units of the tested antenna of the phased array antenna can receive the energy radiated by the antenna unit of the test antenna. As shown in fig. 15, assuming that there are K antenna elements of the test antennas and K antenna elements of the antenna under test of the phased array antennas, a kxk signal propagation matrix P is formed from the antenna element ports of the K test antennas to the antenna element ports of the antenna under test of the K phased array antennas. The electromagnetic wave propagation matrix P of the record k×k is:

wherein P is _xy Representing the change in the amplitude of the signal received from the antenna element of the y-th test antenna to the antenna element of the x phased array antenna under test,

representing the phase change of the signal received from the antenna element of the y-th test antenna to the antenna element of the antenna under test of the x phased array antennas, so to speak +. >

Is the parameter that the antenna element of the y-th test antenna sends out to the antenna elements of the antennas under test of the x phased array antennas to receive. It should be noted that, according to the reciprocity theorem, when the antenna unit of the tested antenna of the phased array antenna emits, the signal propagation matrix still satisfies the above formula description when the antenna unit of the tested antenna is in the receiving state.

As shown in fig. 16, in order to reduce the cross coupling of the non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna, so that the channel simulator port and the selected tested antenna port of the phased array antenna form one-to-one signal transmission, the test method of the present invention proposes to perform "algorithm isolation", i.e. the test antenna port signal or the test signal is loaded into the radio frequency matrix module for processing. The radio frequency matrix module can be arranged independently or integrated in the instrument. The radio frequency matrix module is an inverse matrix of the signal propagation matrix P, and by loading the matrix, cross coupling of non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna can be reduced, isolation between the test antenna is improved, one-to-one signal transmission between the test antenna port and the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna is achieved, specifically, one-to-one signal transmission is formed between each unit (each polarized) port of the test antenna and each unit (each polarized) port of the tested antenna of the phased array antenna, and one-to-one signal transmission between the channel simulator port and the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna is further achieved.

Specifically, taking the downstream test as an example (upstream test see formulas (22) - (26)), the channel simulator port signal (Sx) in fig. 16 ₁ ，Sx ₁ ，...，Sx _K ) Test antenna port (Bx) ₁ ，Bx ₁ ，...，Bx _K ) With the measured antenna port signal (x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) The relationship between:

(Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _h ) ^T -P ^T (x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _h ) ^T (1)

(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T ＝M*(Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) ^T (2）

(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ] ^T ＝M*P*(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T (10)

where M is the loaded radio frequency matrix module, for the test antenna port (Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) Loading the radio frequency matrix module for processing, wherein P is a signal propagation matrix, and the two are inverse matrices

T＝M ^-1 (4)

Can be obtained by combining (1) - (4)

(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T ＝(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T (5)

According to formula (5), one-to-one signal transmission between the port of the channel simulator and the port of the measured antenna of the selected phased array antenna is realized.

This one-to-one signal transmission is similar to using wires between the channel simulator port and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna, and therefore this method is also referred to as the "virtual wire" method. As shown in fig. 17.

Benefits of virtual wire versus real wire connection: the connection of the real wire to the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna can change the performance of the tested antenna of the phased array antenna, such as unit antenna matching, and the like, so as to influence the testing effect. In addition, the connection of the real wire to the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna may cause the wire itself to also act as a radiator, thereby further affecting the radiation pattern of the measured antenna of the phased array antenna. The use of the virtual wires does not affect the self performance of the antenna to be tested of the phased array antenna, so that the test result can reflect the wireless performance of the antenna to be tested of the phased array antenna more truly.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 18, the port of the control channel simulator forms a one-to-one signal transmission with the port of the antenna under test of the selected phased array antenna, and further includes: and adjusting the physical distance between the selected test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna, and reducing the cross coupling of the non-corresponding channel between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna so that the port of the channel simulator and the port of the tested antenna of the selected phased array antenna form one-to-one signal transmission.

Phased array antennas and antenna arrays produce a signal propagation matrix in the actual signal transmission to each other, which is unavoidable. In order to reduce cross coupling of non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna and enable the channel simulator port and the selected tested antenna port of the phased array antenna to form one-to-one signal transmission, the test method of the embodiment of the invention provides for performing physical isolation, namely adjusting the physical distance between the selected test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna. When the physical distance between the test antenna port and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna can enable the corresponding channel gain between the test antenna port and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna to be as large as possible and enable the non-corresponding channel gain between the test antenna port and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna to be as small as possible, the corresponding channel isolation between the test antenna port and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna can be achieved to be as large as possible, so that cross coupling of the non-corresponding channel between the test antenna and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna is reduced, one-to-one signal transmission between the test antenna port and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna is achieved, specifically, one-to-one signal transmission is formed between each unit (each polarized) port of the test antenna and each unit (each polarized) port of the measured antenna of the phased array antenna, and signal transmission between the channel simulator port to the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna is further achieved.

The implementation manner of the physical isolation and the definition of the isolation of the corresponding channel, the non-corresponding channel and the corresponding channel according to the embodiment of the invention are described below.

1. Corresponding channels and non-corresponding channels

As shown in fig. 15, in the actual test, the signal transmission channel from the antenna element port of the kth (k=1, 2, …, K) test antenna to the antenna element port of the tested antenna of the kth (k=1, 2, …, K) phased array antenna is defined as a corresponding channel in the present invention, and there is a corresponding channel gain in the corresponding channel, which is required for the test of the present invention, for transmitting signals; the signal transmission channel from the antenna unit port of the kth test antenna to the antenna unit port of the tested antenna of the mth (m=1, 2, …, K, and m is not equal to K) phased array antenna is defined as a non-corresponding channel in the invention, and the non-corresponding channel has a non-corresponding channel gain, and the non-corresponding channel is not needed for the test of the invention, and can cause interference to the test, so that the non-corresponding channel gain needs to be reduced as much as possible to reduce the interference of the non-corresponding channel to the test.

In an ideal case, the gain of the non-corresponding channel is infinite, the signal propagation matrix P may be written as an identity matrix as follows:

When the signal propagation matrix is an identity matrix, cross coupling of non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna can be reduced, one-to-one signal transmission between the test antenna port and the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna is realized, and one-to-one signal transmission between the channel simulator port and the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna is further realized. However, in practice, the signal propagation matrix cannot be an identity matrix, and the non-corresponding channel gain can be reduced as much as possible and the corresponding channel gain can be increased by a technical means, so that one-to-one signal transmission between the test antenna port and the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna is realized as much as possible.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention defines a corresponding channel isolation, and when the corresponding channel isolation is as large as possible, the corresponding channel gain between the test antenna port and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna is as large as possible, and at the same time, the non-corresponding channel gain between the test antenna port and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna is as small as possible.

2. Isolation of corresponding channels

The corresponding channel isolation degree calculation formula defined by the invention is as follows:

where m=x and n=y cannot be established simultaneously.

Take 3 test antennas and 3 antennas under test of phased array antennas as an example, as shown in fig. 19.

T in FIG. 19 _{x_y} A y-th antenna element (polarization) representing an x-th test antenna in the antenna array; r is R _{x_y} Representing the y-th antenna element (polarization) of the measured antenna of the x-th phased array antenna of the phased array antennas. Arbitrary T _{x_y} And R is R _{x_y} The signal transmission channel of (a) is a corresponding channel, e.g. T ₁₁ And R is R ₁₁ Is a corresponding channel; arbitrary T _{x_y} And R is R _{m_n} (where m=x and n=y cannot be established simultaneously) are non-corresponding channels, e.g. T ₁₁ And R is R ₁₂ 、T ₁₁ And R is R ₂₁ 、T ₁₁ And R is R ₂₂ 、T ₁₁ And R is R ₁₁ 、T ₁₁ And R is R ₃₂ Are non-corresponding channels. T (T) _{x_y} And R is R _{x_y} The corresponding channel gain formed between is recorded as G _{x_y} (dB representation); t (T) _{x_y} And R is R _{m_n} (where m=x and n=y cannot be established simultaneously) the non-corresponding channel gain formed between

(dB representation). />

Defined in the present invention as the corresponding channel isolation.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 19, when x=1, y=1, the corresponding channel T ₁₁ And R is R ₁₁ The corresponding channel gain is formed to be G ₁₁ ；T ₁₁ And R is R ₁₂ 、T ₁₁ And R is R ₂₁ 、T ₁₁ And R is R ₂₂ 、T ₁₁ And R is R ₃₁ 、T ₁ : and R is R ₃₂ Are non-corresponding channels, and the gains of the formed non-corresponding channels are G respectively _{1_1|1_2} 、G _{1_1|1_2} 、G _{1_1|2_1} 、 _{G1_1|s_1} 、G _{1_1|3_2} . According to the given corresponding channel isolation formula, a corresponding channel T can be obtained ₁₁ And R is R ₁₁ The isolation of (2) is as follows:

lsc _{1_1|1_2} ＝G _{1_1} -G _{1_1|1_2} ；

l _{sc1_1|1_1} ＝G _{1_1} -G _{1_1|2_1} ；

l _{sc1_1|1_2} ＝G _{1_1} -G _{1_1|2_2} ；

lsc _{1_1|3_1} ＝G _{1_1} -G _{1_1|3_1} ；

l _{sc1_1|3_2} ＝G _{1_1} -G _{1_1|3_2} 。

when the antenna elements of the test antenna are summed to K, then for the kth corresponding channel, it has K-1 corresponding channel isolation. In fig. 19, 6 corresponding channels are shown, and a total of 30 corresponding channel isolation degrees are shown.

As can be seen from the above description, in order to reduce the cross coupling of the non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the antenna under test of the phased array antenna, it is necessary to make the isolation of the corresponding channels between the test antenna port and the antenna under test of the phased array antenna as large as possible, that is, the gain of the corresponding channels between the test antenna port and the antenna under test of the phased array antenna as large as possible, and the gain of the non-corresponding channels between the test antenna port and the antenna under test of the phased array antenna as small as possible.

To achieve this, embodiments of the present invention propose "physical isolation", i.e. adjusting the physical distance between the selected test antenna and the antenna under test of the phased array antenna. In general, when the physical distance between a test antenna and a measured antenna of the phased array antenna is reduced, the corresponding channel isolation tends to increase, whereas when the physical distance between the test antenna and the measured antenna of the phased array antenna is increased, the corresponding channel isolation tends to decrease. The higher the isolation of the corresponding channel, the weaker the energy transmitted by the non-corresponding channel is, the stronger the dominant energy transmitted by the corresponding channel is, the better the effect of reducing the cross coupling of the non-corresponding channel between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna is, and the one-to-one signal transmission between the test antenna port and the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna can be better realized.

Implementation of "physical isolation

The embodiment of the invention provides physical isolation, namely, adjusting the physical distance between the selected test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna. The specific implementation mode is as follows:

A. by moving the mobile station, each test antenna corresponds to the tested antenna of each phased array antenna in position one by one. Specifically, the arrangement mode of each test antenna is mirrored with the arrangement mode of the tested antenna of each phased array antenna, and the method comprises the following steps: each test antenna is spaced apart from the antenna under test of each phased array antenna in a respective direction, and each antenna element (each polarization) of each test antenna is aligned with the antenna element (each polarization) of the antenna under test of each phased array antenna in a direction.

B. By moving the mobile station, the distance between each test antenna and the tested antenna of each phased array antenna is reduced, the isolation of the corresponding channel is improved, the cross coupling of the non-corresponding channel between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna is reduced, and one-to-one signal transmission between the test antenna port and the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna is realized, so that one-to-one signal transmission between the channel simulator port and the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna is further realized.

C. The physical distance that all corresponding channel isolation degrees meet the phased array antenna system level test requirements can achieve the purpose of physical isolation. At present, the invention can make the isolation of all corresponding channels reach 2dB or more in practical test, but the index value should not be the limit of the technical method of the invention.

By performing "physical isolation," one-to-one signal transmission between the port of the channel simulator and the port of the antenna under test of the phased array antenna can be achieved. Like "algorithmic isolation," this one-to-one signal transmission is similar to using wires for connection between the channel simulator port and the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna, and thus this method is also referred to as the "virtual wire" method. As shown in fig. 16 and 17.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 20, the port of the control channel simulator forms a one-to-one signal transmission with the port of the antenna under test of the selected phased array antenna, and further includes: and adjusting the physical distance between the selected test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna, loading test antenna port signals or test signals into the radio frequency matrix module for processing, and reducing cross coupling of non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna so that one-to-one signal transmission is formed between the channel simulator port and the tested antenna port of the selected phased array antenna.

The physical isolation and the algorithm isolation are means for improving isolation, reducing cross coupling of non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna and realizing one-to-one signal transmission, and can be independently used according to actual test requirements, and can be implemented simultaneously when a single method cannot meet the test requirements.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, after forming the one-to-one signal transmission, the method further includes: the signal processed by the loaded radio frequency matrix module is received through a port of the channel simulator to generate a test signal.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, after forming the one-to-one signal transmission, the method further includes: the test antenna port signal is received through a port of the channel simulator to generate a test signal.

The following describes the downlink test in the system level index massive MIMO performance test in detail.

As shown in fig. 21, 22 and 23, when the downlink test is performed, the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna transmits a signal to the test antenna port, and the channel simulator port receives the test antenna port signal only when the physical isolation is performed, and the test signal is formed by calculation and fed into the multi-channel signal transceiver to perform the downlink test.

Under the condition of only carrying out algorithm isolation or carrying out physical isolation and algorithm isolation simultaneously, after testing the signal of the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna received by the antenna port, firstly loading the radio frequency matrix module for processing and then sending the signal to the channel simulator port, and the channel simulator port receives the signal and forms a test signal through operation, and feeds the test signal into the multipath signal transceiver for downlink test.

Measured antenna port signal y= (r) for phased array antenna ₁ ，r ₂ ，...，r _K ) And multipath signal transceiver port signal y= (Y) ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) The relationship of (2) can be expressed as

Y＝G _US *G(t)*G _BS *X (7)

Wherein G (t) is a channel model, which can be a preset value, and comprises electromagnetic propagation environments such as reflection, diffraction, doppler, multiple angles of arrival, etc. between the phased array antenna and multiple wireless terminals, the channel model is a simulation of the working environment of the phased array antenna, G _US Is a multi-terminal antenna pattern, can be a preset value, G _BS The information of the phased array antenna pattern can be an analog value and a preset value. The channel simulator simulates and constructs a signal propagation formula under the real working environment of the phased array antenna.

Specifically, for a signal flowing from a measured antenna port of a phased array antenna to a multiple signal transceiver port, where only algorithmic isolation is performed, or where both physical and algorithmic isolation is performed, the signal flow may be expressed by the following equation:

Channel simulator port signal (Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) Testing antenna port signals

With the measured antenna port signal (x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) The relation between is that

(Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ] ^T ＝P*(r ₁ ，r ₂ ，...，r _K ) ^T (8)

(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T ＝M*(Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) ^T (9）

Wherein M is a loaded radio frequency matrix module, P is a signal propagation matrix, and the two are inverse matrices

P＝ ^M-1 (11)

Combinations (8) - (11) may be obtained:

(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T ＝(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T (12)

for signals flowing from the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna to the multiple signal transceiver ports, with only physical isolation, the signal flow can be expressed by the following equation:

(B _x1 ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) ^T ＝(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T (13)

(Sx ₁ ，sx ₂ ，...，sx _K ) ^T ＝(Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) ^T (14)

(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T ＝(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T (15)

after at least one of the two methods is adopted, the test signal generated by the operation of the port signal of the channel simulator is fed into the ports of the multipath signal transceiver, and then the port signal (test signal) of the multipath signal transceiver (y ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) Can be expressed as:

(y ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ] ^T ＝G _US *G(t)*G _BS *(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T

＝G _US *G(t)*G _BS *(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T (16)

further, let the

H(t)-G _BS *G(t)/G _BS (17)

H (t) is a channel correlation matrix calculated and generated in a channel simulator simulating transmission of signal streams from tested antenna element ports of a phased array antenna to ports of a multipath signal transceiver in communication therewith in a real use scenario, and for a multipath environment, assuming N sub-paths exist, H (t) is the p-th row, k and column of elements H _y，k (t) can be expressed as

Is h _y，k The nth element in (t) represents one propagation path of the channel model.

And->

Is the pattern gain information of the antenna element of the kth antenna under test of the phased array antenna,

is the complex gain of the channel model,/->

And->

Is the p-th antenna pattern gain in a plurality of wireless terminals, ">

And->

Is the departure angle and arrival angle information of the channel model,

representing delay and doppler in the channel model.

Then the measured antenna port (x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) To a multiplex signal transceiver port (y ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) The signal transmission relation of (2) is that

(y ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) ^T ＝H(t)*(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T (18)

The above formula shows that the test system and the test method of the invention completely realize the real working mode of the phased array antenna, namely, the simulation of communication links with a plurality of wireless terminals simultaneously, and the simulation comprises the simulation of information of a plurality of terminalsSimulation of multipath usage environment, simulation of own antenna information, etc., information flow is represented in (x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) And (y) ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) The transmission process is completely consistent with the actual working condition of the phased array antenna, so that the system level index test of the phased array antenna can be performed, such as the downlink MIMO radio frequency performance, the communication protocol performance and the like of the phased array antenna under multiple users.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, after forming the one-to-one signal transmission, the method further includes: a multi-channel signal transceiver port signal is received through a channel simulator port to generate a test signal.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, after generating the test signal, the method further includes: and loading the test signal into the radio frequency matrix module for processing so as to perform corresponding test.

Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving end is a test antenna, and the test is an uplink test.

The following describes the uplink test in detail with respect to the system level index massive MIMO performance test.

As shown in fig. 21, 24 and 25, the channel simulator receives signals from the ports of the multi-channel signal transceiver when performing the uplink test. Under the condition of only performing physical isolation, the channel simulator forms a test signal through operation, feeds the test signal into a test antenna, and sends the signal to the phased array antenna for uplink test.

Under the condition that only algorithm isolation is carried out, or physical isolation and algorithm isolation are carried out simultaneously, a channel simulator forms a test signal through operation, the test signal is firstly loaded by a radio frequency matrix module and then fed into a test antenna, and the test antenna receives the signal and then sends a signal to a phased array antenna to carry out uplink test.

For the multipath signal transceiver port signal y= (Y) ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) Measured antenna port x= (X) flowing to phased array antenna ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) The relation between the two is:

X＝G _BS *G(t)*G _US *Y (19)

wherein, let the

H″(t)＝G _BS *G(t)*G _US (20)

G (t) is a channel model, which can be a preset value, and comprises electromagnetic propagation environments between the phased array antenna and a plurality of wireless terminals, such as reflection, diffraction, doppler, a plurality of arrival angles and the like, and the channel model is a simulation of the working environment of the phased array antenna, G _US Is a multi-terminal antenna pattern, can be a preset value, G _BS The information of the phased array antenna pattern can be an analog value and a preset value. The channel simulator simulates and constructs a signal propagation formula under the real working environment of the phased array antenna.

H (t) is a channel correlation matrix simulating the transmission of signal streams from the tested antenna element ports of the phased array antenna to the ports of the multi-channel signal transceiver in communication therewith in a real use scenario, which matrix is different from the H (t) matrix in that the channel model it passes through may be different for different signal stream directions.

Specifically, a channel simulator port signal (test signal) (Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) And the multipath signal transceiver port signal (y ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) The relationship between:

(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T ＝H(t)*(y ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) ^T (21)

for signals flowing from the multiple signal transceiver ports to the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna, where only algorithmic isolation is performed, or where both physical and algorithmic isolation is performed, the signal flow may be expressed by the following equation:

Channel simulator port signal (Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) Testing antenna port signal (Bx) ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) With the measured antenna port signal (x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) The relation between is that

(Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) ^T ＝M*(sx ₁ ，sx ₂ ，...，sx _K ) ^T (22)

(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T ＝P*(Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) ^T (23)

(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T ＝M*P*(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T (24)

P＝ ^M-1 (25)

Combinations (22) - (25) can be obtained

(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _h ) ^T ＝(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _h ) ^T (26)

For signals flowing from the multiple signal transceiver ports to the measured antenna port of the phased array antenna, with only physical isolation, the signal flow can be expressed by the following equation:

(Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) ^T ＝(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T (27)

(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T ＝(Bx ₁ ，Bx ₂ ，...，Bx _K ) ^T (28)

(y ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _K ) ^T ＝(Sx ₁ ，Sx ₂ ，...，Sx _K ) ^T (29)

by at least one of the two methods, the multiple signal transceiver ports (y ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) To the measured antenna port (x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) With a signal transmission relationship of

(x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) ^T ＝H*(t)*(y ₁ ，y ₂ ，...，y _P ) ^T (30)

The test system and the test method of the invention completely realize the real working mode of the phased array antenna, namely, the simulation of communication links with a plurality of wireless terminals simultaneously, including the simulation of information of a plurality of terminals, the simulation of multipath use environment, the simulation of antenna information per se, and the like, and the information flow is shown in (x ₁ ，x ₂ ，...，x _K ) And (y) ₁ ，y ₂ ，...， _y The transmission process between P) is completely consistent with the actual working condition of the phased array antenna, so that the system level index test of the phased array antenna can be performed, such as the uplink MIMO radio frequency performance, the communication protocol performance and the like of the phased array antenna under multiple users.

Additionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, when performing the corresponding test, further comprising: and performing the uplink test or the downlink test of the test independently or performing the uplink test and the downlink test of the test simultaneously.

That is, the uplink test or the downlink test may be performed separately, or the uplink test and the downlink test may be performed simultaneously.

It should be noted that the foregoing explanation of the embodiment of the phased array antenna testing system is also applicable to the phased array antenna testing method of this embodiment, and will not be repeated herein.

According to the phased array antenna testing method provided by the embodiment of the invention, under an OTA testing mode, a radiation two-step method is adopted, so that the phased array antenna can be tested, not only can the testing of the index specified in the 3GPP standard be performed, but also the testing and evaluation of the system-level index of the phased array antenna under the actual working scene, especially under the massive MIMO state, can be performed, the truest working environment and the overall wireless performance of the phased array antenna can be reflected, the testing applicability and the practicability can be effectively improved, and the system-level testing requirement can be effectively met.

In order to implement the above embodiment, the present invention also proposes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements a phased array antenna test method as in the above embodiment.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" means at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the description of the present specification, a description referring to terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some examples," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms are not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples may be combined and combined by those skilled in the art without contradiction.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it will be understood that the above embodiments are illustrative and not to be construed as limiting the invention, and that variations, modifications, alternatives and variations may be made to the above embodiments by one of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method of testing a phased array antenna, comprising the steps of:

selecting at least two equal numbers of the test antennas and the tested antennas of the phased array antennas for testing, wherein the at least two test antennas are arranged opposite to the tested antennas of the phased array antennas to be tested;

the port of the control channel simulator and the port of the selected antenna to be tested form one-to-one signal transmission; and

the channel simulator is controlled to form a test signal through operation, and the test signal is fed into a corresponding receiving end to carry out corresponding test;

the controlling the port of the channel simulator and the port of the antenna to be tested of the selected phased array antenna form one-to-one signal transmission, comprising:

and adjusting the physical distance between the selected test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna, loading the test antenna port signals or the test signals into a radio frequency matrix module for processing, and reducing cross coupling of non-corresponding channels between the test antenna and the tested antenna of the phased array antenna by adjusting the corresponding channel isolation between the test antenna port and the tested antenna port of the phased array antenna so as to enable the channel simulator port and the selected tested antenna port of the phased array antenna to form one-to-one signal transmission.

2. The method of testing a phased array antenna of claim 1, further comprising, after forming a one-to-one signal transmission:

and receiving the signal processed by the loaded radio frequency matrix module through a port of the channel simulator so as to generate a test signal.

3. The method of testing a phased array antenna of claim 1, further comprising, after forming a one-to-one signal transmission:

and receiving the test antenna port signal through a port of the channel simulator to generate a test signal.

4. A phased array antenna testing method as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the receiving end is a multipath signal transceiver and the test is a downlink test.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving end is the test antenna and the test is an uplink test.

6. A phased array antenna testing method as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

and performing the uplink test or the downlink test of the test independently, or performing the uplink test and the downlink test of the test simultaneously.

7. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, which when executed by a processor implements the phased array antenna testing method of any of claims 1-6.