Micro-Apps 2013: Design and Simulation of Phased Arrays in VSS

Design and Simulation of Phased Arrays in VSS

Gent Paparisto, AWR Corporation

The design and simulation of large antenna phased arrays has always been a challenging task. While phased arrays with up to few hundred elements can be modeled and simulated in current EDA tools, the larger arrays needed for today's complex radar systems require custom tools that are not easily integrated into the overall communications system design. This presentation overviews key features of AWR's Visual System Simulator™ (VSS) that have been developed specifically to enable disigners to model thousands of array elements without the overhead encountered when they are modeled using discrete components, resulting in much shorter configuration and simulation times. VSS phased array simulation accounts for gain and phase offsets of each element, angles of incidence of the transmitted or incoming signal (theta and phi), element location and operation frequency. The model enables users to configure the array using custom or standard element arrangements and tapers. Most importantly, it allows the user to specify non-linear characteristics of its elements, such as P1dB, IP3, NF, etc., and use them in evaluating system performance and measurements. The phased array elements may be characterized using theoretical equations, data from lab measurements or via external tools. VSS may be used to model the RF architecture of individual phased array elements and provide a characterization of the whole phased array.

IMS2013 Micro-Apps Thursday 1230