Experiments on DOA-estimation and beamforming for 60 GHz smart antennas

In this paper we present experimental results on direction of arrival (DOA) estimation and optical beamforming. In this first part of the paper we describe the experimental set-up for the antenna calibration and DOA estimation at 60 GHz. A pilot signal generator and an array receiver are implemented. The feasibility of the DOA estimation is evaluated for real conditions. The experimental results show that the array calibration works reliable and there is a good agreement between simulation and experiment in the DOA estimation. In the second part, we present the experimental results on beamforming, which is performed using optical millimeter-wave generation technique. The millimeter-wave signals are generated by heterodyning the signals of two lasers. Beamforming is accomplished by a newly developed SiO₂/Si beamforming network, which enables individual control of amplitudes and phases of millimeter-wave signals feeding a planar 1×4 array antenna by means of the maximum directivity beamformer algorithm. Farfield measurements show good agreement between theory and experiment.