Effects on the Positioning Accuracy of a GPS Receiver with Array Antenna and Time Delay Compensation for Precise Anti-Jamming

Abstract

As more GPS receivers are used in navigation systems to obtain precise position information, concerns about GPS jamming vulnerability are growing. The most effective way to overcome this jamming weakness is to use an array antenna that consists of many antenna elements and RF channels. However, an array antenna causes two side effects: a nulling pattern and a time delay error in positioning performance. We analyze the effects on the positioning accuracy of a GPS receiver equipped with a precise time-delay-compensated array antenna to overcome jamming situations. We present an analysis of the theoretical gain pattern of a 4-array antenna and experimental verification of GPS signal attenuation by obtaining a satellite's CN₀ value in the near jamming direction. We show the results of the time delay measurement in the array antenna system using two independent methods and present a new baseband linear interpolation algorithm that is evaluated as having a 0.95 ns RMS error after compensating for the invariant RF time delays. Finally, using the realistic gain pattern and time-delay-compensation results, we assess the position error of the GPS receiver and show the possibility of attaining a precise navigation system in jamming environments.