数字多波束天线测试研究

探讨数字多波束天线的测试方法,对于数字多波束天线远场、近场测试的基本原理及优缺点进行了研究。详细分析了近场环境下数字多波束天线测试误差,研究了误差消除的方法。通过对误差的修正,得到较好的测试效果,从而得出数字多波束天线在近场测试结果完全可以代替远场测试的结论。     

Far-field pattern determination from the near-field amplitude ontwo surfaces

The possibility of determining the far field of radiating systems by measuring only the near-field amplitude is investigated. The main difficulties of the problem are examined in some detail and a new near-field/far-field transformation technique is developed, based on the measurement of the near-field amplitude over two surfaces surrounding the antenna under test. The accuracy of the far-field reconstruction results are related both to the distance between such surfaces and to some a priori information concerning the near-field phase and/or the radiating system. The information on the radiating system allows relaxation of the need for any information on the near-field phase provided that the distance between the measurement surfaces is high enough. Conversely, the knowledge of a more or less corrupted near-field phase allows reduction of such distances without affecting the accuracy of the far-field reconstruction. Numerical examples validating the effectiveness of the developed algorithm are provided for the planar scanning case     

A technique of synthesizing the excitation currents of planararrays or apertures

A technique of synthesizing or reconstructing the excitation currents of a planar array of aperture-type antennas from the known near-field patterns of the radiating source is presented. This technique uses an exact solution to the fields radiated by the aperture antenna without disregarding the source currents. Typical numerical computations have been carried out to validate the analytical technique developed. Sensitivity and stability of the numerical computations performed have been studied. The available iterative bandlimited signal extrapolation technique is used to reconstruct the aperture excitation currents only if the far-field patterns of the radiating source are known. Far-field patterns of aperture antennas measured in the laboratory were also used to reconstruct the aperture electric field distribution in the principal plane     

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.     

Statistical modal analysis applied to near-field measurements of random emissions

The problem of near-field to far-field transformation of narrow-band incoherent electromagnetic fields is analyzed. The coherence matrix of signals sampled in the time domain on a surface enclosing incoherent sources is derived. Two equivalent formulations based on the processing of the coherence matrix are introduced: The signal subspace analysis and the bimodal transformation. In the signal-subspace approach, the coherence matrix is processed using a method based on singular value decomposition, giving rise to a set of functions on the surface enclosing the incoherent sources. Each of these functions is individually transformed to the far field via a modal decomposition and the sum of the transformed functions gives the total far field. In the second formulation, the bimodal transformation is used to transform the near field coherence matrix into the far field coherence matrix from which the far-field pattern is derived. The applications of the proposed transformations in the presence of noise are illustrated. A numerical example using incoherent radiating dipoles inside a leaking wire-grid enclosure validates the two formulations of near-field to far-field transformation. The proposed methodology gives the mathematical foundation for designing a compact time domain measurement facility well suited to incoherent electromagnetic radiation.     

Monitoring techniques for phased-array antennas

The problem of monitoring phased-array antennas in general and microwave landing system (MLS) in particular is considered. Various methods of monitoring phased-array antennas are suggested. One is based on changes in the far-field radiation pattern arising from defects in the array. Another method uses the near-field to far-field transformation, based on the concept of the plane-wave spectrum, for the detection of defects in the antenna. A third method is based on near-field measurements and uses the properties of the Fresnel integral. The methods were simulated on the computer and, where possible, were tested by experiment. A comparative assessment of the methods is given, and an operational monitoring system is suggested for the MLS phased army.     

Evaluation of adaptive phased array antenna, far-field nullingperformance in the near-field region

A theory for analyzing the behavior of adaptive phased array antennas illuminated by a near-field interference test source is presented. Conventional phased array near-field focusing is used to produce an equivalent far-field antenna pattern at a range distance of one to two aperture diameters from the adaptive antenna under test. The antenna is assumed to be a linear array of isotropic receive elements. The interferer is assumed to be a bandlimited noise source radiating from an isotropic antenna. The theory is developed for both partially and fully adaptive arrays. Results are presented for the fully adaptive array case with single and multiple interferers. The results indicate that near-field and far-field adaptive nulling can be equivalent. The adaptive nulling characteristics studied in detail are the array radiation patterns, adaptive cancellation, covariance matrix eigenvalues, and adaptive array weights     

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     

Analysis of phase-focused near-field testing for multiphase-centeradaptive radar systems

Airborne or spaceborne radar systems often require tests before deployment to verify how well the system detects targets and suppresses clutter and jammer signals. The radar antenna diameter can be large and thus the conventional far-field test distance is impractical to implement. The theory and simulations of phase-focused near-field testing for adaptive phased array antennas is discussed. With near-field source deployment, standard phased-array near-field phase focusing provides far-field adaptive nulling equivalent performance at a range distance of one aperture diameter from the adaptive antenna under test. Both main beam clutter sources and sidelobe jammer sources are addressed. The phased array antenna elements analyzed are one-half wavelength dipoles over the ground plane. Bandwidth, polarization, array mutual coupling, and finite array edge effects are taken into account. Numerical simulations of an adaptive antenna that has multiple displaced phase centers indicate that near-field and far-field testing can be equivalent     

应用球模展开实现近远场变换

本文讨论了应用球模展开实现近远场变换的理论和计算方法。提出了提高精度,同时减少占用内存的数据处理方法和充分利用软件功能在微机上实现近远场变换的技术。用典型问题检验了理论和计算机软件的可行性。对x波段喇叭给出了实测的远场、由近场数据推算的远场以及理论计算的远场之间的比较,三者符合得很好。     

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.      

A two probes scanning phaseless near-field far-field transformationtechnique

An innovative and effective technique to determine the far-field of a radiating system from near-field intensity data is introduced, analyzed, and tested. The approach is based on the simultaneous measurement of the amplitude of the voltages received by two different probe antennas moving over a single scanning surface in the near zone and performs the phase retrieval of the near-field by assuming as unknown the plane wave spectrum of the field. The radiated field is then straightforwardly evaluated. As compared to the existing phaseless measurement techniques, the use of two different probes makes it possible to avoid the need for a second scanning surface and thus allows the use of smaller (and cheaper) anechoic chambers. Furthermore, the measurement time is essentially equal to that required by conventional techniques based on the measurement of the complex near-field. The reliability and the effectiveness' of the approach are investigated and discussed and the key factors affecting its behavior are highlighted. In particular, the relevance of the difference between the plane wave spectra (PWS) of the two probe antennas in ensuring an acceptable reliability of the solution, with respect to the starting point of the procedure, is outlined. Finally, the effectiveness of the approach is confirmed by an extensive numerical analysis, which also shows the stability of the solution against data noise     

亚毫米波段折叠光路的准光近场照射天线设计与应用

介绍了一种新颖的折叠光路近场准光照射天线设计方法,并成功应用在微波黑体定标源微弱散射的双站测量中. 在双站测量中,传统的小口径天线适用于低频范围,被测目标足够小才能保证远场条件. 与传统基于远场条件出发的小口径天线设计不同,本文所提出的准光照射天线的设计目的是在目标区降低链路衰减,实现相位平坦、幅值边缘衰减的聚焦照射,并可在近场区域内测得目标的远场散射特征. 设计基于准光学设计方法:由主反射镜和平板反射镜共同构成紧凑的折叠光路,首先确定馈源喇叭天线的等效高斯波束参数,然后基于高斯波束传播理论设计主反射镜,再通过全波仿真验证其折叠路径. 仿真分析表明即使馈源采用基本的圆锥喇叭馈源,也可实现良好的聚焦效果. 双站实测数据表明该天线设计达到了设计目的,为亚毫米波近场双站散射测量的开展提供了关键性的波束控制,具备广泛的应用价值.     

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.     

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     

Antenna measurements using a hologram CATR

It becomes increasingly difficult to obtain far-field measurements for large millimetre wave antennas at higher frequencies due to the required large distance between the antennas. A hologram compact antenna test range (CATR) is used to determine the radiation characteristics of a 39 GHz planar antenna in a small facility. The results are compared with those obtained from planar near-field scanning and conventional far-field measurements     

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.     

Determination of far-field antenna patterns from near-field measurements

In many cases, it is impractical or impossible to make antenna pattern measurements on a conventional far-field range; the distance to the radiating far field may be too long, it may be impractical to move the antenna from its operating environment to an antenna range, or the desired amount of pattern data may require too much time on a far-field range. For these and other reasons, it is often desirable or necessary to determine far-field antenna patterns from measurements made in the radiating near-field region; three basic techniques for accomplishing this have proven to be successful. In the first technique, the aperture phase and amplitude distributions are sampled by a scanning field probe, and then the measured distributions are transformed to the far field. In the second technique, a plane wave that is approximately uniform in amplitude is created by a feed and large reflector in the immediate vicinity of the test antenna. And in the third technique, the test antenna is focused within the radiating near-field region, patterns are measured at the reduced range, and then the antenna is refocused to infinity. Each of these techniques is discussed, and the various advantages and limitations of each technique are presented.     

Decreasing antenna beamwidth with increasing scan angle

All antennas, including phased arrays, exhibit beam broadening in the near field and also beam broadening in the far field at scan angles off broadside. For scan angles in the near field, the effective aperture is reduced, thereby producing less beam broadening due to the near field. At any scan angle, there is a near-field distance at which the broadside far-field beamwidth plus broadening equals the scan angle far-field beamwidth plus broadening. For larger scan angles, the beamwidth is less than at broadside. Calculations of this phenomenon are made for uniform linear and for tapered circular apertures.     

基于IRA天线的辐射波模拟器天线辐射性能研究

将通常用于超宽带领域的IRA天线应用到辐射波电磁脉冲模拟器中,提出一种基于反射器脉冲辐射天线的核电磁脉冲辐射波模拟器,分析其天线结构,给出四种馈臂形式,通过仿真比较了四种馈臂形式天线的辐射效率、远场和近场波形以及频率增益特性。结果表明:该天线的低频辐射效率有待进一步提高;具有锥形渐缩形式馈臂的天线能产生较好的远场和近场波形。IRA天线相较笼形天线具有体积小、方向性好等优点,如果能进一步提高其低频辐射性能,IRA天线将成为理想的辐射波模拟器天线。