Analysis of the Effect of Atmosphere Turbulence on Antenna Arraying Phase Fluctuations

Abstract

Large scale antenna arraying system is superior than a single large antenna in deep space TT&C network. Building a Ka band antenna array system is a cost-effective and sustainable technical scheme for interplanetary TT&C and astronomical observation. However，due to the rapid fluctuation of the phase drift between antennas，the synthetic signal to noise ratio （SNR） will be deteriorated rapidly when the antenna array working at Ka band. The phase drift also brings challenges for deep space uplink signals phase monitoring and closed-loop control，so it is necessary to measure and numerically simulate the atmospheric phase disturbance between the antennas. Based on the relevant interferometry data，the atmospheric phase disturbance measurement method and statistical analysis method of the antenna array are analyzed，and then the antenna array phase drift jitter model is established by using the microwave atmospheric turbulence model. Several phase delay disturbance processes caused by atmospheric turbulence are simulated based on the model. Using the above model，the applicability of the antenna array signal synthesis processing can be tested and evaluated.

Keywords

deep space TT&C / antenna arraying / atmosphere turbulence / atmospheric phase fluctuations