Optimal antenna topologies for spatial gradient detection in differential GNSS

This paper describes new methods to determine optimal reference antenna topologies for detection of spatial gradients in differential Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Such gradients can be caused by ionospheric fronts and orbit ephemeris faults, and if undetected, represent major threats to aircraft navigation integrity. Differential carrier phase measurements between ground antennas are highly sensitive to spatial gradients. Therefore, monitors using spatially separated ground antennas have recently attracted great interest. However, they cannot detect gradients of all sizes and directions due to the presence of integer ambiguities. These ambiguities cannot be resolved because the gradient magnitude is unknown a priori. Furthermore, the performance of such monitors is highly dependent on the spatial distribution of reference antennas. In this work, we introduce new methods to find optimized antenna topologies for spatial gradient detection.