(A) study on thr technique of 2-dimensional beam scanning with coupling phase adjustment in a coupled oscillators array

Abstract

In the wireless communications, sensor applications, imaging, and automotive electronics markets for active smart antenna array systems, a plenty of commercial opportunities have been arisen for many years. In comparison with a wanted phase distribution achievable in a conventional phased array antenna system, although without a phase-shifting circuitry, a progressive phase distribution can be achieved by means of the control of oscillating frequencies or coupling angles between oscillators in a coupled oscillators array for the beam scanning application. Through the advancement in semiconductor device and integrated circuit technology, the coupled oscillators array has gained much attention. Some promising techniques was proposed for a beam scanning applications in highly integrated and low cost systems by controlling the couplings between mutually coupled or inter-injection locked oscillators array. Due to the nonlinear feature of the operation of oscillators, those arrays``s dynamic behavior forming a required phase distribution in transient response is governed by complicated differential equations with dependence on time. As a result, a continuum model of dynamics for a coupled oscillator array presenting an intuitive insight into the behavior of the frequency-tuned array was introduced recently. In this thesis, we evolved the continuous dynamics for the coupled oscillator array with coupling phase adjustments of the coupling circuits at the peripheries of the array and verified it by related experimental measurements followed by a fabrication of 6-element linear array composed of commercially available VCOs. And we implemented two dimensional beam scanning functionality with peripheral coupling phase adjustments in a 2 dimensional array of coupled oscillators based upon the considerable insight into the dynamic operation of those arrays from continuous dynamics. This is the first implementation of 2 dimensional coupled oscillators array with coupling phas...