Multilevel Plane Wave Based Near-Field Far-Field Transformation for Electrically Large Antennas in Free-Space or Above Material Halfspace

A recently presented fully probe-corrected near-field far-field transformation employing plane wave expansion and diagonal translation operators enables near-field far-field transformation for arbitrary measurement contours and arbitrary antennas. A multilevel extension, inspired by the multilevel fast multipole method, is presented that is suitable for the efficient transformation of electrically large antennas with a size of tens or even hundreds of wavelengths. The measurement points are grouped in a multilevel fashion and translations are carried out to the box centers on the highest level only. The plane waves are processed through the different levels to the measurement points using a disaggregation and anterpolation procedure resulting in a reduced overall complexity. In the second part of this paper, the influence of perfectly conducting ground planes and dielectric halfspaces, as an approximation for ground effects in a real measurement setup, is investigated. As such ground reflected waves are assumed, which propagate from the investigated antenna to the field probe and add to the direct wave contributions. The far-field conditions required for these assumptions are achieved by a source box grouping scheme. By this extension ground effects are directly considered within the near-field far-field transformation. Transformation results using simulated and measured near-field data are shown.      

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     

Spatial sampling and filtering in near-field measurements

A sample spacing criterion and a data minimization technique for measurements made over the surface of a plane in the near field of an antenna are presented. The sample spacing is shown to depend on the distance from the antenna to the measurement plane, and on the extent to which evanescent waves can be neglected. The near-field data minimization technique utilizes two-dimensional spatial filtering to effect a significant reduction in computational effort required to calculate selected portions of the far-field pattern. Far-field patterns of anXband antenna calculated from near-field measurements are presented and compared with those measured on a standard far-field range. The far-field calculations are repeated for several near-field sample spacings and for various post-filter sample rates.     

平面波谱恢复算法在平面近场测量中的应用

介绍用于天线平面近场测量的一种近远场变换新算法。该法利用被测天线的平面波谱和口径场幅相分布之间的关系,以及天线口面的约束条件,用G-P迭代算法从平面波谱的置信谱域部分恢复出置信谱域外的平面波谱。这种方法减小了较小截断角下有限扫描面对测量精度的影响,并提高了天线近场测量的效率。     

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     

半导体激光器阵列的“Smile”效应对光束质量的影响

建立"Smile"效应条件下半导体激光阵列近、远场模型,将光纤近场扫描法与高斯光束传输理论相结合,从理论和实验上证明了"Smile"效应值的大小与分布形态共同决定半导体激光器阵列快轴方向实际输出光束质量,获得了不同"Smile"效应条件下半导体激光阵列快轴方向光束参数积Kf值。     

Method for testing reflector antennas at THz frequencies

The possibilities of applying far-field, near-field, and compact-range techniques to reflector antennas in the THz frequency range are discussed. Other methods, such as defocusing and combining of the mechanical-reflector-surface measurements and the feed-horn-radiation patterns, are also discussed. A recently introduced hologram type of compact range is described. It may be concluded from the analysis of the different methods that the far-field method can be discarded due to atmospheric effects. The near-field method remains a possibility. However, an expensive, high-quality, moving stage is needed, and phase errors caused by flexible cables have to be dealt with. In some cases, a defocusing method, to bring the far field closer, may prove to be practical. Technically, the most-feasible and least-expensive method appears to be the hologram type of compact range. In this method, a planar-amplitude hologram is used to form the required plane wave. The hologram is inexpensive to manufacture, and it is also less sensitive to surface-accuracy errors than a reflector     

Fully Probe-Corrected Near-Field Far-Field Transformation Employing Plane Wave Expansion and Diagonal Translation Operators

Near-field antenna measurements combined with a near-field far-field transformation are an established antenna characterization technique. The approach avoids far-field measurements and offers a wide area of post-processing possibilities including radiation pattern determination and diagnostic methods. In this paper, a near-field far-field transformation algorithm employing plane wave expansion is presented and applied to the case of spherical near-field measurements. Compared to existing algorithms, this approach exploits the benefits of diagonalized translation operators, known from fast multipole methods. Due to the plane wave based field representation, a probe correction, using directly the probe's far-field pattern can easily be integrated into the transformation. Hence, it is possible to perform a full probe correction for arbitrary field probes with almost no additional effort. In contrast to other plane wave techniques, like holographic projections, which are suitable for highly directive antennas, the presented approach is applicable for arbitrary radiating structures. Major advantages are low computational effort with respect to the coupling matrix elements owing to the use of diagonalized translation operators and the efficient correction of arbitrary field probes. Also, irregular measurement grids can be handled with little additional effort.     

Scattering of electromagnetic plane waves by a circular cylinder

Numerical investigation of scattering electromagnetic plane waves by a circular conducting cylinder is considered. The results presented are 1) validity of asymptotic far-field expressions when it is applied to calculate near-field around the cylinder and 2) equicontours of amplitude and phase of total field around the cylinder.     

扫描波束天线无相位近场测量技术

以寻找高频扫描波束天线近场测量方法为目的, 提出了一种结合差分进化算法和迭代傅里叶变换算法的双平面无相位近场测量方法.首先用线极化探头在近区采集正交方向切向场幅值信息; 其次使用差分进化算法寻找合适的初始迭代相位; 再利用迭代傅里叶变换算法对一扫描面上的相位进行还原; 最后使用采样幅值和还原相位结合近远场变换理论求得天线远场方向图.为验证方法可行性, 以对称振子天线阵为模型, 对不同扫描角时的测量过程进行仿真, 均获得良好结果.     

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.     

基于天线方向图与近场SBR的海面舰船复合散射研究

针对弹目交互场景中近场电磁散射仿真问题,提出了一种基于近场弹跳射线(shooting and bouncing ray,SBR)法并考虑天线方向图影响的海面舰船复合散射计算模型.根据天线方向图和海面舰船一体化几何模型,给出满足物理光学远场计算条件的面元所接收到的电场强度,通过SBR法得出所有面元的散射场,最后由矢量叠加...     

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     

Reflector antenna fields--An exact aperture-like approach

A new computational approach is presented which allows fast analysis of radiation from large reflector antennas. For an aperture a Fourier transform (FT) relationship does exist between far-field and aperture distribution. Accordingly, the far field can be exactly reconstructed from the knowledge of approximately one sample per lobe (Shannon-Whittaker theorem applied at Nyquist rate). The finite reflector curvature introduces an extra factor in the radiation integral so that the radiation integral is no longer a FT. In order to overcome this difficulty a new pseudosampling expansion, which explicitly takes into account the extra factor, is developed. For parabolic reflector the sampling functions are related to the Fresnel integrals, and the far field can be exactly reconstructed in terms of aperture far-field samples, which can be computed using the fast Fourier transform (FFT). Numerical computations and error analysis show the excellent performance of the method, which can be generalized to deal with arbitrary reflector surfaces and near-field evaluation.     

基于微球透镜远场超分辨率成像方法研究

在可见光波段,传统光学显微镜的成像分辨率被限制到200nm。为了突破衍射极限,采用了将微球与传统光学显微镜相结合的方法来获得远场超分辨率成像。首先通过理论分析平行光通过微纳结构物体后物光波在空气中的传输,进而分析微球将倏逝波转换成传输波实现远场超分辨的成像机理;其次通过仿真研究了微球的光纳米喷射特性,可知微球光纳米喷射的半径尺寸小于入射光波长的一半;最后搭建了基于微球与传统光学显微镜相结合的超分辨率成像实验系统。结果表明,将蓝光光盘作为被测物体,通过该成像系统可获得100nm的远场超分辨率成像; 该成像系统可以对微纳元件结构进行检测。这一结果对光刻技术、生物医学等领域是有帮助的。     

球面近远场和远近场变换算法

天线的远场对于研究天线辐射特性具有重大意义，近场测量技术因其能够避免直接测量远场而得到广泛应用，该技术采用近远场变换获得远场，然而，检验该远场的准确性也是很重要的.为了解决此类问题，文中以球面近场测量为例，提供了一种解决方案.该方案主要探讨了球面波模式展开理论，该理论是实现球面近远场变换算法的关键，其将待测天线在空间建立的场展开成球面波函数之和，天线的加权系数既包含了远场信息也包含了近场信息.因此，不仅能够利用近场测量信息获得远场辐射特性，同样能够利用远场辐射特性反推得到近场处电场，这样就能检验由近远场变换算法得到的远场是否准确.文中首先推算得到了近远场变换公式，随后进一步推算得到远近场变换的公式，最后将本文算法计算结果与FEKO测量结果进行比较，二者吻合良好，从而证实了本文两种算法的有效性.     

球模式展开理论近远场变换及快速算法

基于球模式展开理论的近远场变换是天线球面近场测量系统实现的关键,它将待测天线在空间建立的场展开成球面波函数之和,由于其计算公式复杂,因而计算耗费时间长。该文在实际计算中利用快速傅里叶变换及矩阵的思想可以大幅度提高程序运行速度,节省计算时间。采用该方法对角锥喇叭天线的近远场数据进行仿真验证,结果表明外推远场的结果和理论值吻合良好,说明了该方法在保证计算精度的同时,可缩短计算时间。     

窗函数在相控阵天线平面近场测量中的应用

有限扫描面截断是影响天线平面近场测量精度的主要误差源之一，尤其是对于波束扫描的相控阵天线的平面近场测量更是如此。为了减小相控阵天线平面近场测量中的有限扫描面截断误差，介绍了余弦窗函数并将其应用到相控阵天线平面近场测量中。计算机模拟结果表明，通过对近场进行加余弦窗的数据处理能够有效地减小有限扫描面截断误差。提出了对近场数据进行加余弦窗处理的适用条件。     

基于未知源域重构的无相位近场测量技术

天线的远场对于研究天线辐射特性具有重大意义,由于远场的直接测量有着诸多限制,近场测量技术计算远场因其简洁准确的特点得到广泛应用. 然而,传统的近场测量技术要求获取近场区的幅度和相位分布才能发挥作用,随着天线频率的升高,人们想要在近场区获取准确的相位信息变得十分困难. 为了解决该技术难题,文中提出一种无相位近场测量技术. 利用一个封闭面上的幅度信息重建或猜测出包围待测天线的球面切向电场分布,并采用遗传算法进行全局优化,其最初为四组随机数据,经过数次优化后将逐渐接近准确结果. 仿真结果表明,本文方法能够在忽略相位信号的前提下,计算出准确的远场辐射特性.     

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