Phase control experiment of the PLL oscillator for a phased array antenna

Abstract

The space solar power system (SSPS) requires a large phased array antenna (PAA) with high efficiency and high accuracy but with the conventional method there arises the problem of loss in splitters and phase shifters. In this research, we use a structure integrates phase-locked loop (PLL) oscillators to each antenna element, in order to achieve the objective of simplifying the antenna and increasing its efficiency the simplification and efficiency of the antenna. To make it work as a PAA, we generate a phase difference between the PLL oscillators by controlling the charge pump (CP) output in the oscillators. In the experiment, synchronous detection is performed by using two PLL oscillators; we confirm that it is possible to control the phase difference to 360°. In addition, the phase difference is found to vary in proportion to the CP output.