Near- and Far-Field Characterization of Planar mm-Wave Antenna Arrays with Waveguide-to-Microstrip Transition

We present the design and characterization of planar mm-wave patch antenna arrays with waveguide-to-microstrip transition using both near- and far-field methods. The arrays were designed for metrological assessment of error sources in antenna measurement. One antenna was designed for the automotive radar frequency range at 77 GHz, while another was designed for the frequency of 94 GHz, which is used, e.g., for imaging radar applications. In addition to the antennas, a simple transition from rectangular waveguide WR-10 to planar microstrip line on Rogers 3003? substrate has been designed based on probe coupling. For determination of the far-field radiation pattern of the antennas, we compare results from two different measurement methods to simulations. Both a far-field antenna measurement system and a planar near-field scanner with near-to-far-field transformation were used to determine the antenna diagrams. The fabricated antennas achieve a good matching and a good agreement between measured and simulated antenna diagrams. The results also show that the far-field scanner achieves more accurate measurement results with regard to simulations than the near-field scanner. The far-field antenna scanning system is built for metrological assessment and antenna calibration. The antennas are the first which were designed to be tested with the measurement system.     

A plane-polar approach for far-field construction from near-field measurements

It is well-known that the far field of an arbitrary antenna may be calculated from near-field measurements. Among various possible nearfield scan geometries, the planar configuration has attracted considerable attention. In the past the planar configuration has been used with a probe scanning a rectangular geometry in the near field, and computation of the far field has been made with a two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (FFT). The applicability of the planar configuration with a probe scanning a polar geometry is investigated. The measurement process is represented as a convolution derivable from the reciprocity theorem. The concept of probe compensation as a deconvolution is then discussed with numerical results presented to verify the accuracy of the method. The far field is constructed using the Jacobi-Bessel series expansion and its utility relative to the FFT in polar geometry is examined. Finally, the far-field pattern of the Viking high gain antenna is constructed from the plane-polar near-field measured data and compared with the previously measured far-field pattern. Some unique mechanical and electrical advantages of the plane-polar configuration for determining the far-field pattern of large and gravitationally sensitive space antennas are discussed. The time convention exp (j omega r) is used but is suppressed in the formulations.     

Evaluation des cadences de mesure de champs proches au moyen de sondes modulées

The problems involved in the direct far-field measurements of large antennas have led to the development of the near-field measurement technique. According to this method, the far-field pattern of the antenna is calculated from the near-field measurements close to the antenna. The only inconvenience in this technique is the slow rate of measurements. This slowness is due to the mechanical displacement of the measuring probe or the test antenna. The modulated scattering technique is a method to reduce the measurement time while preserving acceptable levels of accuracy. This article is mainly concerned with estimating the possible measurement rates in typical configurations.     

Near-field diagnostics of small printed antennas using theequivalent magnetic current approach

A near-field to far-field transformation based on the antenna representation by equivalent magnetic current (EMC) sources has been proposed and validated experimentally on large high-directivity antenna arrays. In this paper, the use of EMC is extended to the diagnostics of low-directivity printed antennas. The limitation of the near-field to far-field transformation applied to EMC models of low-directivity antennas, caused by the finite dimensions of the antenna ground plane, is demonstrated. A method to partially overcome this limitation by including the contribution of diffracted rays is implemented, and its effectiveness is demonstrated with antenna prototypes. It is shown that the agreement between the far-field patterns measured in an anechoic chamber and the patterns computed from the EMC model obtained from the near-field measurements is significantly improved upon, within a sector of ±90° with respect to the antenna boresight in the E plane. The influence of the near-field sampling density and topology of the EMC model on the accuracy of the predicted far-field pattern is examined     

Planar near-field scanning in the time domain .2. Sampling theoremsand computation schemes

For part 1 see ibid. vol.47, no.9, p.1280 (1994). Two computation schemes for calculating the far-field pattern in the time domain from sampled near-field data are developed and applied. The sampled near-field data consists of the values of the field on the scan plane measured at discrete times and at discrete points on the scan plane. The first computation scheme is based on a frequency-domain near-field to far-field formula and applies frequency-domain sampling theorems to the computed frequency-domain near field. The second computation scheme is based on a time-domain near-field to far-field formula and computes the time-domain far field directly from the time-domain near field. A time-domain sampling theorem is derived to determine the spacing between sample points on the scan plane. The computer time for each of the two schemes is determined and numerical examples illustrate the use and the general properties of the schemes. For large antennas the frequency-domain computation scheme takes less time to compute the full far field than the time-domain computation scheme. However, the time-domain computation scheme is simpler, more direct, and easier to program. It is also found that planar time-domain near-field antenna measurements, unlike single-frequency near-field measurements, have the capability of eliminating the error caused by the finite scan plane, and thus can be applied to broadbeam antennas     

Phaseless bi-polar planar near-field measurements and diagnosticsof array antennas

Antenna near-field measurements typically require very accurate measurement of the near-field phase. There are applications where an accurate phase measurement may not be practically achievable. Phaseless measurements are beginning to emerge as an alternative microwave antenna measurements technique when phase cannot be directly measured. There are many important aspects for successful implementation of a phaseless measurement algorithm. This paper presents appropriate phaseless measurement requirements and a phase retrieval algorithm tailored for the bi-polar planar near-field antenna measurement technique. Two amplitude measurements and a squared amplitude optimal sampling interpolation method are integrated with an iterative Fourier procedure to first retrieve the phase information and then construct both the far-field pattern and diagnostic characteristics of the antenna under test. In order to critically examine the methodologies developed in this paper, phaseless measurement results for two different array antennas are presented and compared to results obtained when the near-field amplitude and phase are directly measured     

Far-field patterns of spaceborne antennas from plane-polar near-field measurements

Certain unique features of a recently constructed plane-polar near-field measurement facility for determining the far-field patterns of large and fragile spaceborne antennas are described. In this facility, the horizontally positioned antenna rotates about its axis while the measuring probe is advanced incrementally in a fixed radial direction. The near-field measured data is then processed using a Jacobi-Bessel expansion to obtain the antenna far fields. A summary of the measurement and computational steps is given. Comparisons between the outdoor far-field measurements and the constructed far-field patterns from the near-field measured data are provided for different antenna sizes and frequencies. Application of the substitution method for the absolute gain measurement is discussed. In particular, results are shown for the 4.8-m mesh-deployable high-gain antenna of the Galileo spacecraft which has the mission of orbiting Jupiter in 1988.     

Application of spherical near-field measurements to microwaveholographic diagnosis of antennas

Microwave diagnosis of antennas is considered as a viable tool for the determination of reflector surface distortions and location of defective radiating elements of array antennas. A hybrid technique based on the combination of the spherical near-field measurements and holographic metrology reconstruction is presented. The measured spherical near-field data are first used to construct the far-field amplitude and phase patterns of the antenna on specified regularized u-v coordinates. These data are then utilized in the surface profile reconstruction of the holographic technique using a fast-Fourier-transform (FFT)/iterative approach. Results of an experiment using a 156-cm reflector antenna measured at 11.3 GHz are presented for both the original antenna and the antenna with four attached bumps. Several contour and gray-scaled plots are presented for the reconstructed surface profiles of the measured antennas. The recovery effectiveness of the attached bumps has been demonstrated. The hybrid procedure presented is used to assess the achieved accuracy of the holographic reconstruction technique because of its ability to determine very accurate far-field amplitude and phase data from the spherical near-field measurements     

Enhanced patch-antenna performance by suppressing surface wavesusing photonic-bandgap substrates

The microstrip patch antenna is a low-profile robust planar structure. A wide range of radiation patterns can be achieved with this type of antenna and, due to the ease of manufacture, is inexpensive compared with other types of antennas. However, patch-antenna designs have some limitations such as restricted bandwidth of operation, low gain, and a potential decrease in radiation efficiency due to surface-wave losses. In this paper, a photonic-bandgap (PBG) substrate for patch antennas is proposed, which minimizes the surface-wave effects. In order to verify the performance of this kind of substrate, a configuration with a thick substrate is analyzed. The PBG patch antenna shows significantly reduced levels of surface modes compared to conventional patch antennas, thus improving the gain and far-field radiation pattern     

Far-field uncertainty due to random near-field measurement error

Recent planar near-field scanning tests with ultralow-sidelobe antennas have confirmed that random near-field measurement errors will ultimately limit the accuracy of far-field patterns. A formulation is outlined for estimating the spectral signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) arising from noncorrectable near-field random measurement errors. The formulation applies to arbitrarily directive test antennas and probes-even nulling probes. A far-field parameter, called the scan plane coupling factor, may be computed directly from the near-field data, and then used to form the spectral SNR. The accuracy of the spectral SNR is confirmed by simulation and by actual tests with low-sidelobe AWACS array antenna     

Application of plane waves for accurate measurement of microwavescattering from geophysical surfaces

The authors utilized the concept of a compact antenna range to obtain plane-wave illumination to accurately measure scattering properties of simulated sea ice. They also made simultaneous measurements using conventional antennas. Measured scattering coefficients obtained with the plane-wave system at 10 GHz decreased by about 35 dB when the incidence angle increased from 0° to 10°. Scattering coefficients derived from data collected with the radar system at 13.5 GHz using conventional far-field antennas decreased by about 20 dB over the same angular region. This demonstrates that the far-field properties of a widebeam antenna are inadequate for measuring the angular scattering response of smooth surfaces. They believe that application of the compact antenna range concept for scattering measurements has a wide range of applications and is the solution to the long-standing problem of how to directly measure scattering consisting of coherent and incoherent components     

The analysis of wideband spiral antennas using modal decomposition

This paper discusses modal decomposition and its application to wideband antenna measurements. Applying network analysis, a simple finite Fourier series decomposes measured far-field patterns into characteristic modes to determine the power in each mode. The technique is useful for identifying measurement inaccuracies and errors due to antenna design or manufacturing problems. The analysis can be applied to a general class of antennas that radiate a set of characteristic modes; however, this paper demonstrates the concept with wideband, multi-mode spiral antenna measurements.     

An antenna for dual-wavelength radiometry at 21 and 32 GHz

Accurate multiwavelength remote sensing of the atmosphere requires antennas with the same beamwidth at the various frequencies of operation. A single offset antenna with a corrugated feed which meets this criterion at 20.6 and 31.65 GHz is described. The planar near-field (PNF) scanning facility at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) was utilized to measure the near-field patterns of the overall antenna for various feed positions, and with an apodizer placed on the reflector. Comparison of the far-field patterns, calculated using PNF methods, yielded the optimum configuration. In addition, the facility was used as a far-field range to measure the radiation pattern of the feed. The antenna is presently installed at Stapleton International Airport, Denver, CO, in a dual-channel radiometric system which continuously remotely senses water vapor and liquid, and it is performing satisfactorily.     

Measurement of electrically large array antennas in small anechoic chambers [Measurements Corner]

A post-processing procedure that yields accurate array-antenna radiation-pattern estimations is described. By resorting to this strategy, measurements of large array antennas inside small anechoic chambers become feasible. The method employs an adequate phase-correction derived from an optical ray approach, under the assumption that the elementary radiators themselves are electrically small and can be measured under far-field conditions inside the relevant anechoic chamber. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is demonstrated by examining the case of a nonuniform linear array antenna.     

大型陆基雷达监测系统性能的实验研究

对于监测系统的性能评价,最为直观的方法就是比较校准前后的远场方向图。对于陆基大型有源相控阵雷达,其方向图需要通过飞机或飞艇等工具在空中飞行测量,不仅设备量大,操作复杂,而且成本昂贵,而对监测系统性能的研究,没有必要测量阵面的完整方向图。文中提出了一个简单易行的方法,即在阵列中连续选取其中少数单元组成一个小阵列,其远场距离要比整个雷达阵列的远场距离小多,通过改装移动测试车辆,在地面远场处对小阵列的方向图进行测量、比较,就可以验证监测系统的效果。实验结果表明,小阵列校准后方向图与理论值符合,性能指标要明显优于校准前方向图,说明该监测系统可靠可行,可以应用到其他雷达的监测中。     

Radiation of printed antennas with a coplanar waveguide feed

This paper presents an analysis of conductor-backed aperture antennas with multilayered substrate. These printed antennas are fed by a coplanar waveguide (CPW). The theoretical approach taken is to develop an integral equation over the aperture region and apply Galerkin's procedure in the spectral domain. The properties of printed antennas with a CPW feed are characterized. Numerical results include the scattering parameters, antenna pattern, and radiation efficiency. The reflection coefficient, input impedance, and far-field pattern are also compared with measurements and good agreement is observed     

An Effective NF-FF Transformation Technique With Planar Spiral Scanning Tailored For Quasi-Planar Antennas

An effective probe compensated near-field—far-field transformation technique with planar spiral scanning is developed in this paper. It makes use of an ellipsoidal modelling of the source, instead of the previously adopted spherical one. Such a modelling, tailored for quasi-planar antennas, allows one to consider measurement planes at a distance smaller than one half the antenna maximum size, thus reducing the error related to the truncation of the scanning surface. Moreover, it is quite general, containing the spherical modelling as particular case, and reduces significantly the number of the needed near-field data when dealing with quasi planar antennas. Some numerical tests, assessing the accuracy of the technique and its stability with respect to random errors affecting the data, are reported.      

Planar near-field to far-field transformation using an equivalentmagnetic current approach

An alternative method is presented for computing far-field antenna patterns from near-field measurements. The method utilizes the near-field data to determine equivalent magnetic current sources over a fictitious planar surface that encompasses the antenna, and these currents are used to ascertain the far fields. Under certain approximations, the currents should produce the correct far fields in all regions in front of the antenna regardless of the geometry over which the near-field measurements are made. An electric field integral equation (EFIE) is developed to relate the near fields to the equivalent magnetic currents. The method of moments is used to transform the integral equation into a matrix one. The matrix equation is solved with the conjugate gradient method, and in the case of a rectangular matrix, a least-squares solution for the currents is found without explicitly computing the normal form of the equation. Near-field to far-field transformation for planar scanning may be efficiently performed under certain conditions. Numerical results are presented for several antenna configurations     

Linear spiral sampling for the bipolar planar near-field antennameasurement technique

This paper investigates linear spiral sampling for bipolar planar near-field antenna measurements. This sampling scheme is, depending on range implementation, the most rapid polar near-filed data acquisition mode. The near-field to far-field transformation is performed using a modified optimal sampling interpolation (OSI)/fast Fourier transform (FFT) approach. Measured far-field pattern results for a waveguide-fed slot array antenna are presented and are shown to have excellent agreement with results obtained from a conventional bipolar measurement     

Simplified Calculation of Antenna Patterns, with Application to Radome Problems

Generally, the calculation of antenna far-field patterns from known near-field distributions is tedious and may require the use of a large computer. The calculations are simplified for certain types of antennas having separable near fields. This simplifying assumption is found to yield satisfactory results with pyramidal horns and parabolic reflector antennas. Calculations are further simplified by approximating a complex line integral with two real summations. Measured and calculated far-field patterns are included to indicate the accuracy of the calculations. Results are presented for horns and parabolic antennas and for a horn covered with a hollow dielectric wedge. The method is applicable to both E-plane and H-plane pattern calculations. The main lobe of a far-field pattern is calculated in less than one hour on a desk calculating machine by the simplified method. In radome work an important feature is that it permits rapid evaluation of the far-field distortion associated with any given near-field distortion in any given small region in the near field.