Calibration and measurements of large multi-element array antennas

Theoretical and practical aspects of near zone calibration and measurements of the large array antenna in PSC <;Radiofizika> is given. The piecemeal approach to the array calibration is used. The array aperture is represented as a set of several overlapping sectors. Calibration is implemented sequentially within these sectors. Matching of neighbor sectors is achieved due to the overlapping. Analysis of the array calibration error as a function of number of sectors as well as the overlapping area size is implemented. The partitioning algorithm for representing the antenna aperture as a set of sectors providing the best calibration accuracy is described.