30-1000 MHz field strength standard developed in anechoic chamber

An accurate electric field strength for the frequency range of 30 MHz to 1000 MHz has been developed in a full anechoic chamber with 1-Σ uncertainty less than ±1.9%. Reflection parameters of walls at frequencies below 200 MHz are evaluated experimentally, and the errors due to these waves are compensated in the standard and calibrations of the antennas     

Amplification and calibration for miniature E-field probes

The amplification and signal-conditioning system for a miniature nonperturbing RF E-field probe is described. A simple calibration procedure using an X-band slotted waveguide is presented. It requires less power and space than conventional techniques requiring antenna measurements in an anechoic chamber. Measurement results demonstrate relatively small field perturbation due to the probe; and a region in the waveguide where the field is relatively uniform and suitable for calibration. Calibration accuracy is further established by comparing results with those obtained from antenna measurements in an anechoic chamber. To establish the calibration technique, the probe-amplification system is analyzed, leading to a gain equation relating the output voltage and measured field intensity, which is experimentally verified     

TEM室法环天线校准系统建立及测量结果不确定度评定

横电磁波室法是9kHz~30MHz频段环天线校准中广泛采用的一种方法。环天线分为有源环天线和无源环天线两类,这两种天线的磁场天线系数在量值范围上差别大,对系统动态范围要求不同。根据这一特点,对两类环天线分别建立横电磁波室作为标准场的环天线校准系统,基于网络分析仪开展扫频测量。针对电磁兼容领域中常用的直径60cm以下有源和无源环天线分别开展校准方法研究,给出磁场天线系数测量结果和测量结果的不确定度评定。该环天线校准系统可以扫频完成常用环天线在9kHz~30MHz频段内的校准,解决大动态范围问题,环天线校准效率也得到提高。     

三天线法环天线校准系统建立及测量结果不确定度评定

在350kHz~30MHz频段内,为了准确得到环天线所处位置的场强,环天线的天线系数需要校准。三天线法是一种校准天线系数的绝对方法,需要3个环天线,两两组对测量,且不需要任何参考标准。介绍了三天线法校准环天线的原理,基于矢量网络分析仪建立校准系统,并评定校准系统的测量结果不确定度。基于K(i,j)的计算公式复杂,很难计算出其引入的不确定度,因此采用数字电磁学代码(NEC)建模评定K(i,j)的不确定度。评定结果表明,在350kHz~30MHz频段内4个典型频点的扩展不确定度小于0.81dB(k=2)。     

Assessment of a TD-Based Method for Characterization of Antennas

Antenna-characterization measurements are traditionally performed in the frequency domain (FD) through a vector network analyzer (VNA) in an anechoic chamber. Nevertheless, the high cost of the required setup strongly limits the possibility of using this approach. Starting from these considerations, a time-domain (TD)-based approach for characterizing antennas without using an anechoic chamber is assessed. As a matter of fact, instruments operating in TD are usually less expensive than VNAs; nevertheless, with appropriate data processing, they provide as much information. Particularly, it is demonstrated that the selection of an optimal time windowing is the main factor that guarantees a high accuracy level in the corresponding FD. The proposed approach leads to the accurate evaluation of the reflection scattering parameter S ₁₁(f) from time-domain reflectometry (TDR) data. The experimental validation is tested on a commercial radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader antenna, and the results are compared with reference VNA measurements performed in an anechoic chamber. The ultimate goal of this paper is to demonstrate that, through calibrated TDR measurements, along with an optimal time windowing, an accurate antenna characterization can be achieved.     

Analysis and design of broadband U-slot cut rectangular microstrip antennas

Broadband microstrip antenna using variations of U-slot has been widely reported. However, in most of the reported work, an in-depth explanation about the mode introduced by U-slot and procedure to design U-slot cut antennas at any given frequency is not explained. In this paper, first an extensive analysis to study the broadband response in symmetrical and a new configuration of asymmetrical U-slot cut rectangular microstrip antennas is presented. The U-slot tunes higher-order orthogonal mode resonance frequency of the patch with respect to fundamental mode to realise wider bandwidth. Further formulation in resonant length at modified patch modes in symmetrical U-slot cut antenna is proposed. Frequencies calculated using these formulations show closer agreement with simulated and measured results. Using proposed formulations, a procedure to design U-slot cut antenna at different frequencies over 800–4000 MHz range which shows broadband response is explained. Thus, the proposed work gives an insight into the functioning of widely used U-slot cut antennas and the formulations will be helpful for designing at any given frequency.     

微波暗室反射率电平对微波场强校准的影响

论述了微波暗室静区反射率电平的测量方法和微波场强校准原理，分析了反射率电平对标准场法微波场强校准的影响。     

Amplitude calibration of a digital radio antenna array for measuring cosmic ray air showers

Radio pulses are emitted during the development of air showers, where air showers are generated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays entering the Earth's atmosphere. These nano-second short pulses are presently investigated by various experiments for the purpose of using them as a new detection technique for cosmic particles. For an array of 30 digital radio antennas (LOPES experiment) an absolute amplitude calibration of the radio antennas including the full electronic chain of the data acquisition system is performed, in order to estimate absolute values of the electric field strength for these short radio pulses. This is mandatory, because the measured radio signals in the MHz frequency range have to be compared with theoretical estimates and with predictions from Monte Carlo simulations to reconstruct features of the primary cosmic particle. A commercial reference radio emitter is used to estimate frequency dependent correction factors for each single antenna of the radio antenna array. The expected received power is related to the power recorded by the full electronic chain. Systematic uncertainties due to different environmental conditions and the described calibration procedure are of order 20%.     

Broadband flexible comb-shaped monopole antenna

A broadband comb-shaped monopole antenna is proposed. The antenna has dimensions of 19 mm x 12 mm. The measured results show good agreement with the numerical prediction, and broadband operation with 10 dB impedance bandwidth of 44.75% (1.7-2.68 GHz). The antenna is built on one side of a flexible-printed circuit board (PCB) dielectric substrate. Folded and rolled antenna structures, which are transformed by the proposed planar antenna structure, are presented. Each antenna has a broadband impedance bandwidth that covers the PCS, UMTS, WiBro, WLAN and SDMB bands. Also, omni-directional radiation patterns over the operating bands have been obtained. The proposed antennas are suitable for mobile communication applications requiring a small antenna.     

Design of high-Q UHF radio-frequency identification tag antennas for an increased read range

In order to increase the radio-frequency identification (RFID) operation distance, read range analysis was performed based on a simple equivalent circuit of the ultra high frequency (UHF)-band passive RFID tag. The analysis shows that a tag with a large Q-factor leads to an increased input voltage in the tag chip and thus enhances the efficiency. Based on this analysis, a compact (37.5 mm 44 mm) RFID antenna employing inductive coupling between the radiation and feeding portions was designed. Simple adjustments of the two structural parameters of the antenna allowed for easy control of the antenna resistance and inductive reactance, from which a high Q-factor requirement could be readily satisfied. For a conjugate match to the tag chip impedance of 11-j127 Omega, a Q-factor of 11.5 was achieved. The designed RFID tag has a 3 dB radar cross-section (RCS) bandwidth of 6.5 , which is wide enough to handle the impedance detuning caused by the material properties of the attached objects. The designed RFID tag antenna was fabricated and a reading range test in an anechoic chamber was performed using two methods. When a measured RCS of the RFID tag was used, the detection distance was 9.8 m for a reader sensitivity of 65 dBm and 4.7 m for a tag sensitivity of 11 dBm. Using a commercially available tag chip, the range test resulted in 4.3 m, which is compatible with the derived range equations. The tag antennas having lower Q-factors (77+j100 Omega and 55+j155 Omega) have also been fabricated, and their measured read ranges were 2.6 and 1.1+m, respectively.     

Broadband low-profile antennas for wireless applications

Two novel broadband low-profile antennas are developed for the mobile terminals of wireless applications. The first one is a quasiplanar antenna which has a height of 0.06lambda₀, where lambda₀ is the free-space wavelength at the centre frequency. The second one is a planar antenna which has a height of 0.056lambda₀. It is demonstrated that the quasiplanar antenna can achieve a bandwidth for VSWR<2 of more than 45%, while the planar antenna realises a bandwidth of more than 40%. More importantly, over these bandwidths the broadband low-profile antennas have a quite constant omnidirectional radiation pattern with a peak gain of around 1 dBi. The antennas are designed on a commonly used RT/Duroid substrate; hence it is easy to integrate with RF front-end circuits. The antenna structures are described and the simulation and experimental results are presented     

Time-Domain Spherical Near-Field Antenna Measurement System Employing a Switched Continuous-Wave Hardware Gating Technique

A time-domain spherical near-field antenna measurement system capable of gating out erroneous signal components, which arise due to multipath propagation in nonideal anechoic chambers, is presented. The developed hardware (HW) gating technique evaluates a switched sinusoidal signal, which is synthesized by an application-specific pulse generator and acquired by either a commercial real-time digitizing oscilloscope or an application-specific equivalent-time sampling receiver developed for this particular purpose. The low-cost measurement system has been optimized for acquisition speed, dynamic range, and resolution. Its operating frequency range covers 1.5–8 GHz, and it is applicable to antennas exhibiting a typical 3-dB bandwidth in excess of 400 MHz. Test measurements of an omnidirectional and a directional antenna, respectively, have been carried out to demonstrate the performance of the novel HW gating technique. It is shown that the HW gating technique can significantly improve the absolute average deviation of the erroneous 3-D far-field pattern.      

Cross-layer adaptive resource allocation for OFDM systems with hybrid smart antennas

Orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) has become one of the most popular air-link technologies for future broadband wireless communications. To further improve its bandwidth efficiency and system performance, adaptive resource allocation and smart antenna techniques have been widely used in the OFDM system. However, the use of fully adaptive beamforming in an OFDM system significantly increases the complexity of the medium access control layer design and thus affects the implementation of adaptive resource allocation. A novel cross-layer adaptive resource allocation strategy with hybrid adaptive array and switched- beam smart antennas suitable for the OFDM systems has been proposed. With the help of different smart antennas schemes based on different users' quality of service requirements, the strategy effectively reduces the complexity of adaptive resource allocation in an OFDM system, while still maintaining a satisfactory system performance.     

A Method of Reducing the Effect of Residual Reflections in an Anechoic Chamber on the Measurement Precision of the Group Delay in an Antenna

Measurement Techniques - It has been shown that methods currently being used for measuring group delay in an antenna in an anechoic chamber are limited in precision due to the effect of residual...     

Calibration of circular loop antennas

The calibration of a measuring loop antenna means assigning an antenna factor K for each frequency in the entire measurement band. Such a loop antenna factor can be found either by calculating the impedances of the loop, or by using a well-defined standard magnetic field of a transmitting antenna. For both methods, it is necessary to obtain an accurate relation between the magnetic field and the geometrical dimensions of the loops. Generally, a manufactured loop has a complex geometric shape with complex electrical behavior so that its impedances cannot be accurately determined. The standard magnetic field method must then be used for traceability of the calibration. The necessary expressions, taking into account the dimensions of the loops with finite conductor radii including the current distribution along the loop, are given. Greene's equations are accurately calculated with mathematics software on a personal computer for the near-zone as standard average magnetic field. With the procedure presented here, the calibration is reduced to an accurate measurement of attenuation     

Improving the Frequency Characteristics of RF Standard Magnetic-Field Generator Employing Loop Antenna

In the HF and VHF region, the standard magnetic-field generator having a loop antenna has been generally used for the calibration of a radio receiver or a field-strength meter. Presented are new standard magnetic field generators which are able to produce a constant magnetic field over a wide band frequency range by means of measuring the loop current through a compensation transmission line and a compensation thermination resistor. A magnetic-field generator in which a thermistor was used as both a compensation resistor and a current sensor was constructed and examined over the frequency range 10 to 50 MHz. The measured values were agreed with theoretical values within ±0.1 dB.     

Design and optimisation of a high-frequency EMC wideband horn antenna

A new approach for the design of high-frequency electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) broadband double-ridged horn (DRH) antennas is presented. In this approach, first a conventional DRH antenna at 1-18 GHz frequency band is considered. Using a thorough sensitivity analysis of different structural parameters of the 1-18 GHz DRH antenna, several modifications are applied to this antenna to overcome its deficiencies especially in its radiation pattern at higher frequencies. The final achieved design is then scaled up in the frequency to arrive at a design suitable for higher frequency ranges. A wideband DRH antenna for 18-40 GHz frequency band is then designed using this approach. The lower frequency ratio of 1:2.2 in the new antenna as opposed to the 1:18 ratio in the conventional antenna permits us to choose the best frequency window for the scaling up process. Besides, an optimisation technique is employed to further improve the antenna performance to meet the design goals over the entire new frequency band, that is, to have a single main lobe directed along the horn axis without any deterioration, and to have acceptable broadband gain with the minimum of 10 dB, and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of less than 1.5. The final design which is more compact compared with the other commercial antennas has been used to make a prototype antenna. Measurements show that the built prototype meets the design goals very well     

A method for generating a standard magnetic field in a circularwaveguide

In order to minimize the effect of electromagnetic interference and the surrounding conductive materials in the calibration of small loop antennas used above HF frequencies, a novel method for generating a standard magnetic field in a circular waveguide is proposed. A method for obtaining the average magnetic-field strength incident on a receiving loop by placing the radiating and receiving circular loop antennas within a circular waveguide operated below the cutoff frequency region is described. The differences between the theoretical and experimental values of the field strength are within 0.1 dB between 10 and 150 MHz for the radiating and receiving loops with radii of 1.0 cm and within 0.15 dB between 10 and 110 MHz for radiating and receiving loops with a radii of 1.5 cm     

Simple control of the polarisation in uniform hybrid waveguide-planar leaky-wave antennas

A simple and original mechanism to control the polarisation of uniform hybrid waveguide-planar leaky-wave antennas is proposed. The operation is based on introducing simple modifications of the planar dimensions of the structure cross-section, which is shown to control the horizontal and vertical components of the radiated fields. The proposed antenna dispenses with the need for periodic elements, commonly used in flexible polarised leaky-wave antennas, and therefore significantly reduces the design complexity. Parametric curves have been obtained to assist in the simple and efficient design of the proposed antenna. The novel mechanism is illustrated by means of several antenna prototypes operating at 5.7 GHz, producing linear, elliptical and circular polarisations. Commercial three-dimensional finite element method has been used for the simulations, and the results are validated with experimental testing.     

Absolute Measurements for Small Loop Antennas for RF Magnetic Field Standards

A method to determine accurately the strength of magnetic fields produced by a transmitting small loop antenna for the RF field standards is presented. The field strength can be determined by the magnetic dipole moment of the loop. A loop antenna factor is introduced to express the magnetic dipole moment of a transmitting small loop antenna in terms of the incident power to the antenna input port. The emergent power from the output port of a receiving small loop antenna can also be expressed in terms of the magnetic field to be detected and of the loop antenna factor. The insertion loss method (or the three antenna method) is applied to measuring the loop antenna factor. Small loop antennas with diameters 10 cm were designed, and loop antenna factors were measured by the insertion loss method over frequencies up to 30 MHz with a systematic error of 0.08 dB.