An Efficient OTA Calibration and Pattern Estimation Method for 5G mmWave Large-Scale Arrays

In this article, an efficient over-the-air (OTA) calibration and pattern estimation method under the midfield (MF) condition for the fifth-generation (5G) millimeter-wave (mmWave) large-scale arrays is proposed. A new transformation and revision algorithm is developed to calibrate the antenna array fast and accurate. Meanwhile, the time consumed in the accurate beamforming pattern estimation is reduced significantly. The proposed method requires a much smaller size anechoic chamber, a fixed probe antenna, and a vector network analyzer (VNA). The effectiveness is proven with the detailed theoretical analysis and experimented with a 64-element phased array in the 26 GHz band. The calibrated root-mean-square (rms) errors of the phase and magnitude are about 1.8 degrees/0.4 dB. In addition, the proposed calibration and pattern estimation method is tremendously cost-effective and time-saving with similar accuracy as the far-field test method.