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Research on surface detection and characterization of 3.2 m splicing radio antenna based on laser tracker

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2025

Zuozifei Song Open the ORCID record for Zuozifei Song [Opens in a new window] ,
Jinpeng Li ,
Peng He ,
Yong Bi ,
Yong Ma  and
Renai Liu
Zuozifei Song
Affiliation:
University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
Jinpeng Li*
Affiliation:
University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Co., Ltd, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
Peng He
Affiliation:
Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Co., Ltd, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China College of Physics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China
Yong Bi
Affiliation:
Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Co., Ltd, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
Yong Ma
Affiliation:
Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Co., Ltd, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
Renai Liu
Affiliation:
University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
*
Corresponding author: Jinpeng Li; Email: lijinpeng@nairc.ac.cn
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Abstract

This paper proposes a new surface fitting method based on double model comparison to solve the aspherical surface parameters, allowing for the simultaneous extraction of the surface deviation and the optimal surface fitting parameters for the radio antenna’s main reflector. This method employs the laser tracker to obtain the 3D coordinates of the points on the antenna surface, which can be expressed in terms of Zernike polynomials. Then compare the Zernike polynomial description with the ideal aspherical equation description to establish a discrepancy model in the optical design software. Finally, by optimizing this model, the optimal surface parameters can be obtained. The simulation results show that the method is suitable for high-precision fitting of aspherical surfaces with cone coefficient K in the range of [−4, 0.3], with the maximum deviation percentage of the radius of curvature at 0.036% and the cone coefficient at 0.14%. Experimental research is conducted on the 3.2 m sector sub-aperture spliced radio antenna; the fitted radius of curvature is 2012.3204 mm, the conic coefficient is −1.0476, and the Root Mean Square (RMS) is 0.6232 mm, confirming the adaptability of this method.

Keywords

laser trackerradio telescopesurface measurement

Information

Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , First View , pp. 1 - 13
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with The European Microwave Association.

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