Active antenna system

1. Active antenna system comprising

a plurality of antennas,

a radio equipment connected to the antennas,

wherein the radio equipment comprises for each antenna a separate transceiver module and antenna modules are each comprising one of said antennas and one of said transceiver modules, further comprising modules for determining delays caused by the runtime of antenna signals from a data source to the respective antenna module and for calculating delay coefficients for compensating the delays caused by the respective runtime, and the antenna modules comprise each a calibration module and the calibration modules are embodied for detecting the time when a synchronization signal for synchronizing the antenna modules passes the respective antenna module on the way from the data source to the most distant antenna module and on its way back to the data source, wherein the difference of these two time data is calculated and divided in half and the resulting time difference forms the delay time Δt of the respective calibration module.

2. Active antenna system according to claim 1 , wherein the data source is a radio equipment control unit.

3. Active antenna system according to claim 1 , wherein the data source is embodied for the determination of calibration coefficients for all or a predetermined number of antenna modules and for carrying out the delay in a radio equipment control unit.

4. Active antenna system according to claim 1 , wherein one of the antenna modules is the data source, wherein this antenna module generates a synchronization signal for synchronizing the antenna modules.

5. Active antenna system according to claim 1 , comprising

a radio equipment control unit, wherein the radio equipment control unit comprises a hub being connected to the transceiver modules via an antenna interconnect, and the hub is embodied for receiving base band signals via the antenna interconnect from the transceiver modules and to extract channel signals from the received base band signals, or each transceiver module comprises a switch matrix being connected to the radio equipment control unit via an antenna interconnect.

6. Active antenna system according to claim 5 ,

wherein the antenna interconnect comprises antenna cables for connecting the transceiver modules with the radio equipment control unit or wherein the antenna interconnect is a radio connect.

7. Active antenna system according to claim 5 ,

wherein the radio equipment comprises an up-converter for converting a base band signal to a high frequency RF antenna signal for transmitting the antenna signal via the corresponding antenna, and a down-converter for converting a received high frequency RF antenna signal to a base band signal.

8. Active antenna system according to claim 5 ,

wherein the radio equipment comprises a digital-to-analog converter for converting a digital signal received from the radio equipment control unit into an analog signal, and an analog-to-digital converter for converting an analog signal received by means of the antenna into a digital signal, wherein digital signals are transmitted via the antenna interconnect.

9. Active antenna system according to claim 5 ,

wherein the radio equipment control unit is connected to the radio equipment by means of the antenna interconnect.

10. Active antenna system according to claim 5 ,

wherein an up-converter for converting a base band signal to a high frequency RF antenna signal for transmitting the antenna signal via the corresponding antenna, and a down-converter for converting a received high frequency RF antenna signal to a base band signal.

11. Active antenna system according to claim 5 , wherein

several antenna modules of the radio equipment comprise each a switch matrix, and the switch matrix can be connected to a radio equipment control unit by means of the antenna interconnect or to a switch matrix of another antenna module by means of an intermediary cable.

12. Active antenna system according to claim 5 , wherein the transceiver module comprises a calibration unit.

13. Active antenna system according to claim 12 , wherein the calibration unit is part of a feedback loop comprising a digital signal processor and at least one coupler being coupled to a signal path in the proximity of one of said antennas.

14. Active antenna system according to claim 12 , wherein the calibration unit is located in a transmission path and/or in a receiving path.

15. Active antenna system according to claim 5 ,

wherein the radio equipment comprises an optical beam former chip and a photonic predistortion element.

16. Active antenna system comprising:

a plurality of antennas,

a radio equipment connected to the antennas,

wherein the radio equipment comprises for each antenna a separate transceiver module and antenna modules are each comprising one of said antennas and one of said transceiver modules, further comprising modules for determining delays caused by the runtime of antenna signals from a data source to the respective antenna module and for calculating delay coefficients for compensating the delays caused by the respective runtime, and each antenna module comprises a separate clock, wherein the clocks of the antenna modules can communicate with each other and one of said clocks is configured as a master clock and the other clocks are configured as slave clocks, wherein the master clock sends a clock signal to the slave clocks and the clock signal comprises a time stamp, so that the slave clocks receive the clock signals from the master clock together with the time stamp and calibrate their clocks according to a time difference between the time stamp and a time when the slave clock received the clock signal from the master clock, wherein the time difference can be determined either by iteratively returning the clock signals from the slave clocks to the master clock.

17. Active antenna system comprising:

a plurality of antennas,

a radio equipment connected to the antennas, and

a radio equipment control unit,

wherein the radio equipment comprises for each antenna a separate transceiver module and antenna modules are each comprising one of said antennas and one of said transceiver modules, further comprising modules for determining delays caused by the runtime of antenna signals from a data source to the respective antenna module and for calculating delay coefficients for compensating the delays caused by the respective runtime, the radio equipment control unit comprises a hub being connected to the transceiver modules via an antenna interconnect, and the hub is embodied for receiving base band signals via the antenna interconnect from the transceiver modules and to extract channel signals from the received base band signals, or each transceiver module comprises a switch matrix being connected to the radio equipment control unit via an antenna interconnect, the transceiver module comprises a calibration unit, which is part of a feedback loop comprising a digital signal processor and at least one coupler being coupled to a signal path in the proximity of one of said antennas, and the feedback loop comprises a second coupler being coupled to the signal path, wherein one of said couplers is located in between the antenna and a duplex filter and the other coupler is located adjacent to the duplex filter but distant to the antenna.