A Framework for Design of Multibeam Antenna Systems used for Amplitude-Only Direction Finding Based on Correlation Method

Contemporary radio frequency systems require accurate angle of arrival (AoA) estimates on incoming signals. There are many approaches to achieve AoA estimations including amplitude-only and phase interferometry, just to name two traditional methods. Whereas the latter are more accurate, the former are simpler and less expensive. Due to their lower costs and ability to cover extreme bandwidths, there has been increased interest in amplitude-only AoA receivers. The two main techniques utilized in these systems are amplitude comparison [1] and the correlation method [2] . Correlation method may enable operation over a wider field of view (FoV) with a well-designed multibeam antenna system and considering the processing times can be made fast, it is the preferred implementation in many cases [2] . However, the guidelines for the design of multibeam antennas for the use with these systems are not widely discussed in the open literature. In this work, we study the impact of multibeam antenna characteristics and system parameters on the accuracy of the correlation method. Moreover, important design guidelines for practical implementation are also provided.