Abstract—The estimation accuracy of antenna delay is one of the most important parameters for arraying combining performance in deep space network. The least squares estimation method of delays is presented, considering the geometric relation of delays estimated by cross-correlation, and theoretical analysis of the method is also presented. The complementary Kalman filtering method of delays is also presented, according to the different characteristics and inherent between delays and phase differences. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the two methods can both greatly improve the estimation accuracy of the delays. For the given case, the accuracy of delays improves about two orders of magnitude after the least squares filtering. The delay errors can also be greatly reduced after the complementary Kalman filtering. The estimation accuracy can be further improved, if the two methods are properly combined.

Index Terms—Antenna arraying, delay, least squares estimation, complementary kalman filtering

Cite: De-Qing Kong and Yun-Qiu Tang, "The Least Squares Estimation and Complementary Kalman Filtering Methods of Delays in Antenna Arraying for Deep Space Communications," Journal of Communications, vol. 9, no. 11, pp. 815-820, 2014. Doi: 10.12720/jcm.9.11.815-820