A Sparse Ka-Band Digital Beamforming Integrated Receiver Array

Digital beamforming smart antennas offer additional flexibility and precision within the digital domain in terms of beam control, source detection and calibration over conventional analog systems. With the continuous advancement in digital technology, specifically with the size and speed of analog to digital converters and FPGAs, the digital transceiver will persist to spread widely in use. We develop an 8-element sparse array design and implement it into Ka-band digital beamforming receiver architecture. The sparse design is briefly described. The array is realized in integrated planar microstrip circuitry with active MMIC surface mount die chips. Pattern synthesis and data recovery are demonstrated to validate its performance as a digital beamforming system