Probe correction of spherical near-field measurements

Probe correction has been implemented in a computer program which calculates antenna far fields from spherical nearfield measurements. The computer program has been applied to near-field measurements on a satellite model, and the accuracy of the computed far field is significantly improved, compared with the results obtained without probe correction.     

Real-time spherical near-field handset antenna measurements

A new spherical near-field measurement system, dedicated to personal-communications applications, has been installed at e-tenna Corporation. The system, sold by Satimo, uses an electronically scanned probe array, and offers a dramatic reduction of the measurement time (by a factor ranging from 60 to 1,000) with respect to conventional mechanical scanners. This test range has undergone extensive acceptance testing, which has verified the specified measurement accuracy. The speed of the system, combined with the availability of full-sphere measurement data, enables rapid measurement of antenna efficiency. The system also enables the measurement of other parameters, such as the percentage of radiated power dissipated into the body of a human test subject operating a cellular telephone     

Control of scattering from probes for near-field antenna measurements by use of skirt

A novel approach to reducing the multiple reflections between the test antenna and the probe in near-field antenna measurements is proposed. Instead of absorbers, this approach makes use of a skirt on the probe to shield against the mounting structure behind the probe.     

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     

一种减小相控阵天线球面近场测量截断误差的方法

在相控阵天线球面近场测量中,有限扫描面和相控阵天线波束扫描将会引起较大的截断误差.为了解决这一问题,提出利用基于遗传算法参数优化的余弦窗函数对近场数据进行加权处理的方法来有效减小截断误差.以半波振子组成的矩形平面阵作为待测天线,对相控阵天线球面近场测量进行了计算机模拟.模拟结果表明,通过对近场数据进行加余弦窗的处理并用遗传算法对参数进行优化能够大大减小相控阵天线波束扫描时的有限扫描面截断误差,从而证实了文中所提出方法的正确性和有效性.     

Applications of probe-compensated near-field measurements

The theory of near-field measurements for antenna practitioners is summarized, and the measurement procedures in three coordinate systems, namely rectangular, cylindrical, and spherical are outlined. Specific topics include probe characterization, measurement systems, data reduction, and attendant accuracies. The results of recent studies are also summarized, and some brief remarks on future applications of near-field measurements in the laboratory, the production line, and in field testing and evaluation conclude the paper.     

Basic theory of probe-compensated near-field measurements

The general problem concerning the interaction of a probe antenna with the near field of an arbitrary antenna is considered. The application of the Lorentz reciprocity theorem to the problem of determining antenna characteristics, including the far-field pattern, is presented. The data required to correct for the directional effects of the probe, the effect of probe correction on the measured data, and the attendant mathematical computations in rectangular systems are described. Extensions to cylindrical and spherical systems are discussed.     

An overview of near-field antenna measurements

After a brief history of near-field antenna measurements with and without probe correction, the theory of near-field antenna measurements is outlined beginning with ideal probes scanning on arbitrary surfaces and ending with arbitrary probes scanning on planar, cylindrical, and spherical surfaces. Probe correction is introduced for all three measurement geometries as a slight modification to the ideal probe expressions. Sampling theorems are applied to determine the required data-point spacing, and efficient computational methods along with their computer run times are discussed. The major sources of experimental error defining the accuracy of typical planar near-field measurement facilities are reviewed, and present limitations of planar, cylindrical, and spherical near-field scanning are identified.     

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.     

Recent experimental results in near-field antenna measurements

Recent experimental results on determination of antenna pattern and power gain from near-field measurements are described. Two new antenna measurement theorems were applied. Measurements were made on an electrically large horn lens, a standard-gain horn and a nominal duplicate of the measuring antenna. Some comparisons with direct far-field measurement results were made.     

Plane wave spectrum scattering analysis of near-field obstacle effects on directive antenna patterns

A plane wave spectrum scattering analysis of the effects of a near-zone obstacle on the pattern performance of a directive antenna is discussed. The free-space azimuth monopulse antenna is characterized by its sum and difference mode plane wave spectra, and a computed plane wave scattering dyad is used to characterize the scattering by a metallic right circular cylinder when it is excited by the incident antenna spectra. An efficient computer algorithm has been developed to compute the far-zone scattered and total fields for the antenna/cylinder system. Extensive experimental data have been obtained, and the patterns calculated using the present analysis are in agreement with the measured data.     

近场测量相控阵天线的全息成像方法

研究了一种利用近场测量技术全息成像相控阵天线口径幅相的方法。该方法是把近场测量获得的方向图函数与由单元形式及幅相分布表示的方向图函数进行比较,采用FFT算法和空间域的Fourier重构法,可以快速、精确地成像出相控阵天线口径的“全息图”,进而诊断出阵中单元幅相的奇异程度。通过仿真实验,检验了该方法的成像分辨率和精度,并考察了不同口径区域的成像误差对辐射方向图的影响程度,说明该具有非常好的应用前景。     

Formulation of spherical near-field scanning for electromagneticfields in the time domain

Spherical near-field scanning techniques are formulated for electromagnetic fields in the time domain so that a single set of time-domain near-field measurements yields the far field in the time domain or over a wide range of frequencies. Probe-corrected as well as nonprobe-corrected formulations are presented. For bandlimited time-domain fields, sampling theorems and computation schemes are derived that give the field outside the scan sphere in terms of sampled near-field data     

Accurate determination of planar near-field correction parametersfor linearly polarized probes

A procedure used by the US National Bureau of Standards (NBS) for accurately determining the plane-wave receiving parameters of both single- and dual-port linearly polarized probes is described. Examples are presented, and the effect of these probe receiving characteristics in the calculation of the parameters for the antenna under test is demonstrated using the required planar near-field theory. The planar near-field theory necessary to accomplish probe correction and to formulate probe parameter errors is presented in a concise and meaningful way to help understand when probe correction is or is not needed     

Prediction of far-field from uniform and non-uniform under-sampled near-field data in planar near-field antenna measurements

In near-field antenna measurements various forms of uniform and non-uniform sampling techniques have been widely deployed. Considering the fact that the near-field pattern of any antenna is a spatially quasi-band-width-limited function of space coordinates, Shannon's theorem simply defines the sampling frequency. Based on the sampling theorem, in order to precisely reconstruct a band-limited signal from its samples, the sampling frequency must be at least twice as much as the signal's bandwidth. Through the simulations and theoretical evaluations this research shows that if the near-field pattern is either uniformly or non-uniformly under-sampled due to any practical reasons, yet a good estimation of far-field pattern can be obtained especially if the antenna under test (AUT) is a directive high-gain or super high-gain antenna. Also the time efficiency of far-field prediction from under-sampled near-field data is discussed and the advantages and disadvantages are highlighted.     

球面近场测试高阶探头补偿算法及其在超宽带探头上的应用

为了提高基于超宽带探头的球面近场天线测试系统精度,相应的探头补偿算法需要考虑超宽带探头的高阶方位模式. 文中采用文献[3]中基于球面波的迭代法方案实现了高效高精度的高阶探头补偿算法,并将其应用到一种工作在2～18 GHz的超宽带双脊喇叭探头中. 同时以偶极子阵列为例,研究了本文算法相较于传统低阶算法的精度优势,测试了该算法在多种条件下的收敛性. 结果显示:在相同条件下,高频端比低频端的高阶补偿效应更加明显;当待测天线完全落在该探头的主瓣6 dB宽度区域内时,算法均可以在几次（小于10）迭代后达到理想的精度. 因此,本文算法可以有效地提高基于超宽带探头的球面近场测试系统的精度,并且具有较高的单机计算效率.     

Sensitivity measurements of a passive intermodulation near-field scanner

A passive intermodulation (PIM) near-field XY scanner for the GSM900 frequency band has been constructed to localize distortion sources in antennas and in other open structures. The equipment should be able to measure distortion levels down to -115 dBm with an input power of 2/spl times/20 W, since the noise floor of a GSM900 base station is typically around -110 dBm. The sensitivity is limited either by thermal noise or by residual intermodulation distortion, depending on the probe coupling. Various causes of residual intermodulation distortion in the passive intermodulation near-field measurement are considered and evaluated. Sensitivity measurements of the scanner have been carried out on two test devices. Sensitivities of -112 dBm and -110 dBm have been achieved with an electric and a magnetic field probe, respectively.     

Accurate estimation of single-mode-fibre characteristics from near-field measurements

We propose a simple procedure to process data from a near-field measurement to obtain accurately an appropriately defined `spot size? in single-mode fibres and hence estimate almost all the relevant fibre characteristics like dispersion, splice loss and microbending loss.