Reference Loop Phase Shift in Adaptive Arrays

Adaptive arrays for use in communication systems require the generation of a so-called reference signal, which is usually derived from the array output. A particular problem associated with this technique, the problem of reference loop phase shift, is discussed. It is shown that phase shift in the reference loop causes the array weights to cycle, and also causes the array to frequency-modulate the signal. In spite of this frequency change, the array maintains a maximum SNR at the output.     

Reference Loop Phase Shift in an N-Element Adaptive Array

Adaptive arrays based on the LMS algorithm require the generation of a reference signal which is usually derived from the array output. A particular problem associated with this technique is that of a phase shift in the reference signal loop. The effects of this phase shift on the performance of an N-element adaptive array are discussed. It is shown that a reference loop phase shift causes the array weights to cycle, thereby frequency translating the signals at the output. The weight-cycling frequency is related to various system parameters of an N-element array. In particular, it is observed that the cycling frequency increases as the number of antennas (N) increases.