Direction Finding with Time Modulation for Phased Array

A novel direction of arrival (DOA) estimation method based on the phased array is proposed and verified, by adjusting the phase shifts of all the elements periodically. Because of the periodical modulation, the fundamental component and the harmonic components are generated simultaneously in each element. After the power combiner, the spectrum of the received signal is influenced by the incident direction. Therefore, the incident direction can be calculated out by analyzing the spectrum characteristic of the received signal. The proposed method has a potential application in the wireless communication based on the phased array. Numeric simulations are provided to verify its effectiveness.