A Weak Reverse Coupling Cascaded Injection-Locked VCO Array for Beam Scanning in Phased Arrays

We propose a novel phase shifter for beam scanning in phased arrays using a cascaded injection-locked voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) array with weak reverse coupling. We analyze the phase noise performance of a multi-signal injection-locked oscillator and establish a phase output model for the array, studying the effects of forward and reverse injection ratios on phase and phase noise at each stage. By decoupling and cascade locking VCO array elements through controlled injection ratios, we design a 2.45 GHz one-dimensional linear array of four VCOs that achieves a continuous fixed phase difference between adjacent oscillators from −180° to 180°, enabling electronic tuning of phase shift and beam scanning. Finally, the beam scanning of the antenna array is realized by using the VCO array. Our theoretical and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach.