Direction of arrival estimation using circular vector array

Abstract

The Direction of Arrival Estimation (DOA) has drawn increasing attention nowadays.

Large percentages of the DOA estimation researches are focused on the Scalar

Circular Array (SCA), mainly targeting at those signals with low grazing angels and

vertical polarization. In this report, a new concept of Vector Circular Array (VCA) is

proposed. VCA is mainly targeting at those signals with high grazing angles. The

main objective of this report is to analyze and verify the performance of the VCA on

DOA Estimation.

The Vector Circular Array was designed with 4 patch antennas and aimed to receive

the signal with frequency of 2.4GHz. Also, a 4-channle receiver was designed to

verify the efficiency of the algorithm. A series of tests were conducted to make sure

that the antenna and receiver can perform properly. The signal is received by the

receiver, then digitalized through Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and processed

by MATLAB programs for calibration and DOA estimation. The DOA estimation is

achieved through a joint algorithm based on a popular high-resolution estimation

method. A few measurements were conducted to make sure the receiver and the

algorithm can estimate the DOA with proper accuracy.