On Statistical Distribution of Far-Field Electric Field for the Diagnosis of Faulty Element

The presence of faulty elements deteriorates the performance of a phased array, e.g., beam pointing errors, gain degradation, sidelobe deterioration. It is desirable to locate the faulty elements without performing a dedicated procedure. In this work, we present an un-cooperated testing method by placing a testing antenna in the far-field region of the phased array. The electric field of the phased array during beam scanning is measured at fixed locations. Statistical distributions of the electric field yield an interesting phenomenon that the curves are orderly distributed if an array element does not work. This method may provide a potential solution for the diagnosis of faulty elements.