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Compact Range

Increasing 4-D Imaging Radar Calibration Accuracy Using Compact Antenna Test Range
Benoit Derat,Daniel Markert,Josef Schm?ller,Rong Chen Leng,Yaohui Liu,Ralf Reuter, November 2020

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), such as blind spot warning and braking assistants, have been in use for years to improve road security. ADAS are currently further promoted through the autonomous driving trend. Due to their cost / performance trade-off, the automotive industry perceives 4-D high-resolution radar sensors, as one of the backbones of autonomous driving. With human safety being at stake, the topic of calibration of these sensors is obviously of the utmost importance. Performing an accurate calibration requires a test condition where the target is in the far-field of the radar under test (RUT). Due to the requirements for angular resolutions, 77 / 79 GHz radars with 15 cm radiation aperture or more are quite common. Applying Fraunhofer formula then results into a necessary measurement range length of 11.5m. Because of the high cost of ownership of an adequate anechoic range, radar manufacturers usually limit their measurements to the strict minimum and try to simplify the calibration process. A typical approach is to go for a diagonal calibration where the target is always at boresight for each beam-formed pattern of the RUT. This technique however delivers a sub-optimal compensation of the RUT biases. In particular, it creates high peak-to-side-lobe ratios (PSLR), where energetic echoes are observable in directions of side lobes of each beam. This paper introduces a new system for radar measurements, made of a short-size focal length offset-fed compact antenna test range (CATR), interfaced with an analog echo generator. With a chamber size of only 0.9 m x 2 m x 1.6 m, the setup has been designed to test apertures up to 30 cm size. The quality of the quiet zone achieved is discussed in the paper, as well as various uncertainty contributions relating to radar measurements. Tests are presented which involve a latest generation 4-D imaging radar on chip (RoC). Results obtained in the CATR are compared to a reference 7 m far-field range. Diagonal and full angular calibrations of the RoC are carried out and analyzed, demonstrating an improvement of 10 dB PSLR when the target is swept over the complete azimuth region.

Analysis of Time and Direction of Arrival (TADOA) Data using Basis Pursuit in the AFRL One-RY Antenna Measurement Range
Brian Fischer, Ivan LaHaie, Michael Blischke, Brian Kent, Brittany Wells, James Stewart, October 2017

Time and Direction of Arrival (TADOA) analysis of field probe data has been an accepted method for characterizing stray signals in an antenna measurement range for many years ([1], [2]). Recent uncertainty investigations at the OneRY range have shown a need for increased resolution to isolate and characterize energy in TADOA images so that resources can be carefully applied to reduce the uncertainty from these stray signals. This is accomplished by modeling the TADAO image as the solution to a Basis Pursuit (BP) l1 minimization problem. This paper outlines the model development and shows concrete examples from OneRY field probe data where BP allows for the identification of stray energy which was previously difficult to find. We also show how the BP optimization context can be using to remove contamination from the data through the inclusion of additional basis functions ([3]). I.J. Gupta, E.K. Walton, W.D. Burnside, “Time and Direction of Arrival Estimation of Stray Signals in a RCS/Antenna Range,” Proc. of 18th Annual Meeting of the Antenna Measurement Techniques Association (AMTA '96), Seattle WA, September 30-October 3, 1996, pp. 411-416. I.J. Gupta, T.D. Moore, “Time Domain Processing of Range Probe Data for Stray Signal Analysis,” Proc. of 21st Annual Meeting of the Antenna Measurement Techniques Association (AMTA '99), Monterey Bay CA, October 4-8, 1999, pp. 213-218. B.E. Fischer, I.J. LaHaie, M.H. Hawks, T. Conn, “On the use of Basis Pursuit and a Forward Operator Dictionary to Separate Specific Background Types from Target RCS Data,” Proc. of 36th Annual Meeting of the Antenna Measurement Techniques Association (AMTA '14), Tucson AZ, October 12-17, 2014, pp. 85-90.

A High Precision Group Delay Measurement Method for Circular Polarized High Gain Antennas
Georg Strauss, October 2017

In this contribution we demonstrate a method to measure the absolute Group Delay (GD) of a high gain dual feed offset reflector antenna for circular polarized signals in Ku- and S-band by which we reach a measurement accuracy better than 10 picoseconds. At first we discuss the definition and different possible measurement methods of GD. We specifically show that the utilization of the antennas phase centre does not lead to the demanded measurement accuracy. Instead we propose a measurement method that uses an electrically small Reference Antenna (RA). We use the measurement of the GD of the RA as a reference for the GD of the Antenna Under Test (AUT). Therefore the exact positions of the reference planes of the corresponding wave guide ports have to be ensured. For this we made use of a theodolite. These measurements must be performed in a Compensated Compact Range to meet the strict requirements of plane waves. Here the CCR of the Lab for Satellite Communication, Munich University of Applied Sciences was used. The GD of the (electrically small) RA is determined by measuring the GD of two identical RAs separated by an exact known free space distance and by referencing these measurements to the measured GD of the same arrangement, where the free space is bypassed by a long high precision rectangular wave guide with well-known dimensions. We demonstrate that by using a soft gating method the accuracy of the measurement results can be tremendously improved. Measurement results parametrized by the width of the gate window in the time domain are discussed. We further discuss the accuracy of the measurement results quantitatively and we especially show, that the influence of an antenna misalignment is negligible, as long the alignment error is smaller than the one dB power beam width. The measurement campaign was commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) to meet the requirements of the project Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES). By ACES a microwave link is used to compare the times given by different atomic clocks in space and on earth, so three ACES ground terminals were tested.

An RCS-based Wall-reflectivity Technique - The First On-site Test Results
Amin Enayati, Joachim Wesemael, October 2017

Among different measurement techniques for the wall reflectivity, an RCS_based technique has been implemented and test results are reported. For most of the anechoic chambers, the factory acceptance test and a quality-control check is sufficient for the customers to be sure that the absorbers used to line their chamber are good enough. In some cases, a quiet-zone reflectivity measurement will certify that the chamber yields the quietness as needed for the specific application of the customer. This last technique is mostly used in the far-filed ranges. However, in some anechoic chambers, e. g. some compact ranges, the customer wants to know the effect of the installation and the shipment on the final absorber installed in the room. That is why, they ask for a wall reflectivity measurement to see the reflectivity of the absorbers after being installed. The main problem to be solved when talking about wall reflectivity is the un-wanted clutter in the room which needs to be compensated for. Last year at AMTA 2016, we have introduced a clutter-removal technique to reduce the unwanted shattering levels. That was supported by some lab implementations and accordingly some limitations in the implementation. This paper, explains the result of the first practical on-site test done in an anechoic chamber. Many different points in the chamber have been tested and a detailed discussion of the results are brought to view.

Ka-Band Measurement Results of the Irregular Near-Field Scanning System PAMS
Alexander Geise, Torsten Fritzel, Maurice Paquay, October 2017

The portable antenna measurement system PAMS was developed for arbitrary and irregular near-field scanning. The system utilizes a crane for positioning of the near-field probe. Inherent positioning inaccuracies of the crane mechanics are handled with precise knowledge of the probe location and a new transformation algorithm. The probe position and orientation is tracked by a laser while the near-field is being sampled. Far-field patterns are obtained by applying modern multi-level fast multipole techniques. The measurement process includes full probe pattern correction of both polarizations and takes into account channel imbalances. Because the system is designed for measuring large antennas the RF setup utilizes fiber optic links for all signals from the ground instrumentation up to the gondola, at which the probe is mounted. This paper presents results of the Ka-band test campaign in the scope of an ESA/ESTEC project. First, the new versatile approach of characterizing antennas in the near-field without precise positioning mechanics is briefly summarized. The setup inside the anechoic chamber at Airbus Ottobrunn, Germany is shown. Test object was a linearly polarized parabolic antenna with 33dBi gain at 33GHz. The near-fields were scanned on a plane with irregular variations of over a wavelength in wave propagation. Allowing these phase variations in combination with a non-equidistant grid gives more degree of freedom in scanning with less demanding mechanics at the cost of more complex data processing. The setup and the way of on-the-fly scanning are explained with respect to the crane speed and the receiver measurement time. Far-fields contours are compared to compact range measurements for both polarizations to verify the test results. The methodology of gain determination is also described under the uncommon near-field constraint of coarse positioning accuracy. Finally, the error level assessment is outlined on the basis of the classic 18-term near-field budgets. The assessment differs in the way the impact of the field transformation on the far-field pattern is evaluated. Evaluation is done by testing the sensitivity of the transformation with a combination of measured and synthetic data.

On the Disadvantages of Tilting the Receive End-Wall of a Compact Range for RCS Measurements
Vince Rodriguez, October 2017

Abstract— Tilting the receive end wall of a compact range anechoic chamber to improve Radar Cross-Section (RCS) measurements has been a tool of the trade used since the earliest days of anechoic chambers. A preliminary analysis using geometrical optics (GO) validates this technique. The GO approach however ignores the backscattering modes from the reflected waves from a field of absorber. In this paper, a series of numerical experiments are performed comparing a straight wall and a tilted wall to show the effects on both the quiet zone and the energy reflected back towards the source antenna. Two Absorber covered walls are simulated. Both walls are illuminated with a standard gain horn (SGH). The effects of a wall tilted back 20° are computed. The simulations are done for 72-inch long absorber for the frequency range covering from 500 MHz to 1 GHz. The ripple on a 10 ft (3.05 m) quiet zone (QZ) is measured for the vertical wall and the tilted wall. In addition to the QZ analysis a time-domain analysis is performed. The reflected pulse at the excitation antenna is compared for the two back wall configurations Results show that tilting the wall improves measurements at some frequencies but causes a higher return at other frequencies; indicating this method does not provide a broadband advantage. Keywords: Anechoic Chamber Design, Radar Cross Section Measurements, Geometrical Optics

Group Delay Measurement For Satellite Payload Testing
Daniel Janse Van Rensburg, Allen Newell, Stuart Gregson, Pat Pelland, October 2017

Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP), Saturating Flux Density (SFD) and Group Delay (GD) are three system level parameters often measured during the characterization of spacecraft systems. EIRP is of interest for transmitters, SFD for receivers and GD for the entire up/down link. A test methodology for EIRP and SFD was first presented in [1] and [2] and a detailed procedure presented in [3]. To date GD has only been measured under far-field (or simulated far-field) conditions. In [4], a concept for measuring GD in a planar near-field (PNF) range is described, but no methodology is presented. In this paper, we present a method for measuring GD in a planar near-field range. The technique is based on a set of three antenna pairs, measured sequentially, from which the insertion phase of the measurement system and the near-field probe [5] can be resolved. Once these parameters are known, insertion phase for the device under test (i.e. a Tx or Rx antenna) can be measured and GD calculated as the negative frequency derivative of the insertion phase. An added complexity in the case of a near-field measurement is the near-field probe is in close proximity to the device under test (not far-field condition) for which compensation is needed. We show through simulation and measurement, that the plane wave expansion allows us to compute a correction factor for the proximity of the probe to the device under test; thus allowing correction of the measured insertion phase. The final step in measuring payload GD through both uplink and downlink channels is to set up a fixed Tx probe in close proximity to the Rx antenna and an equivalent Rx probe in close proximity to the Tx antenna and performing a through measurement as one would do on a far-field range. Correction factors for compensating for the proximity of both probes are then applied, based on independent a-priori Rx and Tx case measurements performed on the antennas. Simulated and measured data will be presented to demonstrate the process and to illuminate some of the finer nuances of the correction being applied. Index Terms— Group Delay, Planar Near-Field, Antenna Measurements, Three Antenna Method. [1] A. C. Newell, R. D. Ward and E. J. McFarlane, “Gain and power parameter measurements using planar near-field techniques”, IEEE Trans. Antennas &Propagat, Vol 36, No. 6, June 1988 [2] A. C. Newell, “Planar near-field antenna measurements”, NIST EM Fields Division Report, Boulder, CO, March 1994. [3] D. Janse van Rensburg and K. Haner, “EIRP & SFD Measurement methodology for planar near-field antenna ranges”, Antenna Measurement Techniques Association Conference, October 2014. [4] C. H. Schmidt, J. Migl, A. Geise and H. Steiner, “Comparison of payload applications in near field and compact range facilities”, Antenna Measurement Techniques Association Conference, October 2015. [5] A. Frandsen, D. W. Hess, S. Pivnenko and O. Breinbjerg, “An augmented three-antenna probe calibration technique for measuring probe insertion phase”, Antenna Measurement Techniques Association Conference, October 2003.

Effects due to Antenna Mount in Base Station Antenna Measurements
John McKenna, Vivek Sanandiya, Larry Cohen, October 2017

Cellular Base Stations require efficient performance validation methods. One performance criterion is the Station radiation pattern. In directive pattern measurements, it is well documented that the Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) and the Spherical Near Field (SNF) methods produce equivalent patterns. However, Base Station radiation patterns are not necessarily directive to the extent necessary for equivalent patterns among CATR and SNF methods. In deploying a number of Spherical Near Field and point source Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) test facilities, we have observed the radiation pattern of base station antennas are more sensitive to the mount in a CATR than in a Spherical Near Field Antenna Test Range. This fact conflicts with intuition and theory. A barbeque spit positioner has been deployed in both spherical near field and point source compact ranges. Recently the point source compact range has been observed to yield patterns noticeable different depending on the antenna mount to the spit. On the other hand, the Spherical Near field implementation, in at least two deployments to Germany, has NOT manifested such a dependence on the mount, or, perhaps, such a dependency exists and yet has not been recognized. Measured Data will be presented showing radiation dependencies upon the mount in a CATR and SNF implementation. Explanations as to the Root Cause will be stated.

Broadband Additive Spiral Antenna
Tommy Lam, October 2017

As part of the Lockheed Martin (LM) Additive Manufacturing (AM) Initiative, the Rotary Mission System antenna group has been developing a new and improved Additive Spiral Antenna (ASA) for both transmit and receive applications. This is a collaboration effort between LM engineering and LM manufacturing for a low cost and high performance antenna for manyultra-wide band(UWB) applications in both military and commercial market sectors. Unlike other conventional spiral designs, thisrecently emerging Additive Manufacturing capabilities allow extra spiral antenna miniaturizations without additional gain bandwidth performance penalties. This is achieved by leveraging unique low cost AM abilities to form complex and thus much more efficient 3D shapes to increase spiral antenna radiation efficiency, approaching the Chu’s gain bandwidth limitation. An initial prototype ASA was designed and tested in 2016 and showed very encouraging results. The measured ASA performance indicated nearly the same antenna performance as our current conventional production spiral antenna having multi-decade frequency band performance. More importantly, the ASA aperture size was significantly reduced by more than 50% with excellent transmit and receive gain efficiency and power handling capabilities. This paper will describe this ASA prototype design approaches and antenna near field and far field compact range measurement results along with material characterizations to demonstrate Additive Manufacturing technology can enhance antenna performance that otherwise not realizable with conventional fabrications. In addition, an integrated optimum balun length electromagnetic band gap (EBG) cavity design further reduces the antenna depth by over 70% will be presented. This is realized by use of high power and high temperature honeycomb absorbers in conjunction to electromagnetic band gap (EBG) cavity design for achieving high efficiency and low cavity profile, with total antenna volume reduction by nearly 3x. Some discussions will be provided for solving high thermal issues associated with ASA’s transmit capabilities.

Study of PO Analytic Methods for Serrated CATR Quiet Zone Simulation
Fernando Rodríguez Varela, José Luis Besada Sanmartín, Belén Galocha Iragüen, November 2016

A detailed study of several analytic methods for the simulation of compact antenna test range (CATR) quiet zone field is presented. The focus of the present paper is to develop a fast simulation model suited to an optimization process of the CATR geometry in order to minimize the desired quiet zone parameters, such as amplitude taper and ripple, phase variation and crosspolar level, for a wide range of frequencies. The algorithms introduced are based on physical optics (PO) which provides accurate results at high frequencies, when the reflector size is very large in wavelengths. Unlike conventional PO algorithms where the surface current integration is performed with a finite integral, here the problem is addressed by modeling the reflector surface as a set of equivalent radiating planar triangles. Comparisons between the developed method and the direct integration are given to justify the computational savings. A Fast Physical Optics algorithm is implemented for evaluating the quiet zone field to further reduce computational times.

Transfer Function Characterization for a Dual Reflector, Indoor Compact Range
Thomas Cowles, Lonny Walker, November 2016

Raytheon, El Segundo, CA chamber #2 is a dual reflector, indoor compact range that is the largest facility of its kind within the company.  A series of tests were performed to characterize the measured transfer function of the chamber because of a recent capital upgrade of the range measurement system. The purpose of this paper is to document and discuss the results of the characterization testing, review how the measured transfer function of the range was determined, and compare the current results with both past data and analytical predictions, and demonstrate how this transfer function is used for antenna and radar cross section (RCS) measurement characterization. The measured transfer function of the range is used for both antenna and RCS measurement characterization. For antenna measurements, the transfer function is used in the Friis transmission equation to determine, for example, the expected power at the receiver given the transmit power and gain of both the transmit antenna and the antenna under test. Appropriate amplification and/or attenuation can determined as part of the test planning process saving time during test setup and test execution. For RCS measurements, the transfer function was recently utilized to study the benefits and challenges of relocating our instrumentation radar from a smaller compact range to this large compact range. The motivation for the study was enhanced measurement capability for larger targets and lower frequencies. This study utilized noise equivalent RCS (NERCS) as the metric and transmit power, pulse width, and pulse integration as the study parameters to find a practical solution for optimizing NERCS.

Improving the Cross-Polar Discrimination of Compact Antenna Test Range using the CXR Feed
Andrea Giacomini, Lars Foged, Antonio Riccardi, Jörg Pamp, Rasmus Cornelius, Dirk Heberling, November 2016

Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) provide convenient testing, directly in far-field conditions of antenna systems placed in the Quiet Zone (QZ). Polarization performance is often the reason that a more expensive, complex, compensated dual reflector CATR is chosen rather than a single reflector CATR. For this reason, minimizing the QZ cross-polarization of a single reflector CATR has been a challenge for the industry for many years. A new, dual polarised feed, based on conjugate matching of the undesired cross polar field in the QZ on a full wave-guide band, has recently been developed, manufactured and tested. The CXR feed (cross polar reduction feed) has shown to significantly improve the QZ cross-polar discrimination of standard single reflector CATR systems. In previous papers, the CXR feed concept has been discussed and proved using a limited scope demonstrator and numerical analysis. In this paper, for the first time, the exhaustive testing of the dual polarised feed operating in the extended WR-75 waveguide band (10-16 GHz) is presented. Accuracy improvements, achieved in antenna cross-polar testing, using this feed is also illustrated by measured examples.

Correcting Polarization Distortion in a Compact Range Feed
Brett Walkenhorst, David Tammen, November 2016

A high quality antenna feed is an essential element of a compact antenna test range (CATR) in order to ensure the range can achieve the necessary stability in beam width, phase center and the necessary purity of polarization throughout the range’s quiet zone. In order to maintain the requisite quality, such feeds are typically 1) single-port and 2) cover a relatively limited band of frequencies. It is desirable to have a single dual ported, broadband feed that covers multiple waveguide bands to eliminate the need for a polarization positioner and avoid the difficulty associated with changing feeds for a single antenna measurement. Though some such feeds exist in the market, with such feeds, we often see a reduction in polarization purity across the band of interest relative to the more band limited feeds. Previous attempts to utilize dual-port probes and/or extend the bandwidth of the feed have resulted in degraded performance in terms of beam pattern and polarization purity. In an attempt to overcome some of the deficiencies above, the authors have applied polarization processing to dual-pol antennas to correct for the impurity in polarization of the antenna as a function of frequency. We present here a broadband CATR feed solution using a low-cost, dual-port sinuous feed structure combined with polarization processing to achieve low cross-pol coupling throughout the quiet zone. In the following paper, the feed structure, polarization theory, and processing algorithm are described. We also present co- and cross-pol coupling results before and after correcting for the polarization distortion using data collected in two CATRs in Atlanta, GA and Asia.

Millimeter-wave Antenna Measurements Using a Novel Approach
Tom Newman, Joe Chandler, November 2016

A novel system architecture has been developed which makes measurements at N times the analyzer’s frequency, yet requires no communication with the analyzer.  Millitech’s Spartan Test Modules, STMs, splits the input signal from an analyzer, multiplies this by N for the source, and by N-1 for the LO of the receiver mixer.  The mixer downconverts to the original signal, while maintaining its phase integrity, and sends this back to the analyzer.  This scheme is straightforward for narrow bandwidth requirements, but becomes more difficult for wideband ones.  The filtering and temperature compensation requirements are high, but have been solved for these bands resulting in a dynamic range of 70 to 80 dB across 54-69 GHz for V-Band and across 69-90 GHz for E-Band, which directly relates to the side lobe resolution in an antenna pattern measurement.  The wide dynamic range doesn’t come at a cost of slowing the sweep, as in other frequency extension solutions.  This puts the Spartan system performance at the same or higher level as other mixer based systems that have much higher hardware requirements.  STMs can be used to convert any make, model or vintage of vector network, scalar network or spectrum analyzer into a millimeter-wave test station.  The small size of the STMs allows them to be mounted directly onto the back of the antennas.  Therefore, readily available, < 10 GHz cables can be used for the long run back to the analyzer.  The Spartan enables state-of-the-art antenna measurements either directly, in compact ranges, or in near-field ranges, examples will be shown.

Inverse Scattering and Imaging of Compensated Compact Ranges by Plane Wave Analysis
Engin Gülten, Josef Migl, Thomas Eibert, November 2016

The Compensated Compact Range (CCR) 75/60 of Airbus DS GmbH is the state-of-the art indoor test facility for real-time RF measurements of satellite antennas within a frequency range from 1 to 200 GHz. The CCR is composed of a two reflector system, a main reflector and a sub-reflector, to create a cross-polar-compensated plane wave in the test zone. However, even such a sophisticated design has residual cross-polar components due to the contribution of the range feed, edge diffraction from the reflector system, as well as from the serrations and imperfect absorbers. To improve and optimize the RF performance of the CCR, detailed EM simulation models are developed in order to solve the related forward scattering problem [1, 2, 3]. In spite of this it is also of great importance to analyze the CCR in a different perspective to gain insight into the CCR. To this aim, an approach based on plane wave spectrum analysis combined with inverse scattering and imaging techniques is proposed. The proposed approach firstly computes the plane wave spectrum of the measured or simulated data taken in the quite zone by using 2D Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).  Then, the measured or simulated field is back-propagated by using an inverse scattering approach. By considering the geometrical shape information of the main reflector, the current distribution on the reflector is imaged. The reconstructed images help to clearly identify the effects of. Appropriate windowing is applied to the computed plane wave (angular) spectrum in order to locate and image the echoes. Based on the investigation carried out with the proposed approach, it turns out that the area of the main reflector should be increased to reduce the disturbing impact of the serrations. This investigation also shows that increasing the size of the sub-reflector does not help to improve the plane wave uniformity of the fields in the test zone.  In order to test the proposed method against the experimental data, which is not in a suitable format for FFT, the measured data is interpolated to equally spaced data in a Cartesian coordinate system. The experimental results, which are obtained by processing both co and cross polar measurements, show very good agreement with the results obtained by using synthetic data.      References [1] A. Geise, J. Migl, J. Hartmann, H-J. Steiner, “Full Wave Simulation of Compensated Compact Ranges at Lower Frequencies”, AMTA 33th Annual Symposium, 16 – 21 October 2011 in Englewood Colorado, USA. [2] C. H. Schmidt, A. Geise, J. Migl, H-J. Steiner, H.-H. Viskum, “A Detailed PO/ PTD GRASP Simulation Model for Compensated Compact Range Analysis with Arbitrarily Shaped Serrations”, AMTA 35th Annual Symphosium, 6 – 11 October 2013 in Colombus Ohio, USA. [3] O. Borries, P. Meincke, E. Jorgensen, C. H. Schmidt, “Design and Validation of Compact Antenna Test Ranges using Computational EM”, AMTA 37th Annual Symphosium , 11 – 16 October 2015 in Long Beach, CA, USA.

Quiet-Zone Qualification of a Very Large, Wideband Rolled-Edge Reflector
Anil Tellakula, William Griffin, Scott McBride, November 2016

Installing a large compact range reflector and electromagnetically qualifying the quiet zone is a major undertaking, especially for very large panelized reflectors. The approach taken to design the required rolled-edge reflector geometry for achieving a 5 meter quiet zone across a frequency range of 350 MHz to 40 GHz was previously presented [1]. The segmentation scheme, fabrication methodology, and intermediate qualification of panels using an NSI-MI developed microwave holography tool were also presented. This reflector has since been installed and the compact range qualified by direct measurement of the electromagnetic fields in the quiet zone using a large field probe. This paper presents the comparison and correlation between the holography predictions and the field probe measurements of the quiet zone. Installation and alignment techniques used for the multiple panel reflector are presented.  Available metrology tools have inherent accuracy limitations leading to residual misalignment between the panels.  NSI-MI has overcome this limitation by using its holography tool along with existing metrology techniques to predict the field quality in the quiet zone based on surface measurements of the panels.   The tool was used to establish go/no-go criteria for panel alignment accuracy achieved on site. Correlation of the holography predictions with actual field probe measurements of the installed reflector validates the application of the holography tool for performance prediction of large, multiple-panel, rolled-edge reflectors. Keywords: Rolled-Edge Reflector, Compact Range, Field-Probing, Quiet Zone, Microwave Holography

Estimating Measurement Uncertainties in Compact Range Antenna Measurements
Stephen P. Blalock,Jeffrey A. Fordham, November 2015

Methods for determining the uncertainty in antenna measurements have been previously developed and presented. The IEEE recently published a document [1] that formalizes a methodology for uncertainty analysis of near-field antenna measurements. In contrast, approaches to uncertainty analysis for antenna measurements on a compact range are not covered as well in the literature. Unique features of the compact range measurement technique require a comprehensive approach for uncertainty estimation for the compact range environment. The primary difference between the uncertainty analyses developed for near-field antenna measurements and an uncertainty analysis for a compact range antenna measurement lies in the quality of the incident plane wave illuminating the antenna under test from the compact range reflector. The incident plane wave is non-ideal in amplitude, phase and polarization. The impact of compact range error sources on measurement accuracy has been studied [2,3] and error models have been developed [4,5] to investigate the correlation between incident plane wave quality and the resulting measurement uncertainty. We review and discuss the terms that affect gain and sidelobe uncertainty and present a framework for assessing the uncertainty in compact range antenna measurements including effects of the non-ideal properties of the incident plane wave. An example uncertainty analysis is presented. Keywords: Compact Range, Antenna Measurement Uncertainty, Error Analysis References: 1.     IEEE Standard 1720-2012 Recommended Practices for Near-Field Antenna Measurements. 2.     Bingh,S.B., et al, “Error Sources in Compact Test Range”, Proceedings of the International Conference on Antenna Technologies ICAT 2005. 3.     Bennett, J.C., Farhat, K.S., “Wavefront Quality in Antenna Pattern Measurement: the use of residuals.”, IEEE Proceedings Vol. 134, Pt. H, No. 1, February 1987. 4.     Boumans, M., “Compact Range Antenna Measurement Error Model”, Antenna Measurement Techniques Association 1996 5.     Wayne, D., Fordham, J.A, Mckenna, J., “Effects of a Non-Ideal Plane Wave on Compact Range Measurements”, Antenna Measurement Techniques Association 2014

Predicting the Performance of a Very Large, Wideband Rolled-Edge Reflector
Anil Tellakula,William R. Griffin, Scott T. McBride, November 2015

Achieving a very large quiet zone across a wide frequency band, in a compact range system, requires a physically large reflector with a suitable surface accuracy. The size of the required reflector dictates attention to several important processes, such as how to manufacture the desired surface across a large area and the practicality of transportation and installation. This inevitably leads to the segmentation of the reflector into multiple panels; which must be fabricated, installed, and aligned to each other to conform to the required geometry. Performance predictions must take into account not only the surface accuracy of the individual panels but also their alignment errors. This paper presents the design approach taken on a recent project for a compact range system utilizing a blended rolled-edge reflector that produces a 5 meter quiet zone across a frequency range of 350 MHz to 40 GHz. It discusses the physical segmentation strategy, the fabrication methodology, the intermediate qualification of panels, the panel alignment technique, and the laser-based metrology methodology employed. Performance analysis approach and results will be presented for the geometry as conceived and then for the realized panelized reflector as machined and aligned.

CAMELIA Quiet Zone Assessment using PEC Sphere RCS Measurements
Pierre Massaloux,Philippe Bérisset, November 2015

An uncertainty budget for Indoor Radar Cross Section (RCS) measurements contains many contributors. Typically, one of the largest contributors comes from the Quiet Zone quality. To quantify the ripple and the tapper in the Compact Range Quiet Zone of the CEA’s indoor facility CAMELIA, a diagnosis method has been implemented, exploiting the radar response of a moving sphere located on a polystyrene mast. This polystyrene mast is fixed on the top of a linear-translating table over an azimuth positioner. The combination of the two axis capabilities allows to locate the PEC sphere in a horizontal plane cut of the quiet test zone volume. The other cuts at different altitudes are performed by changing the height of the polystyrene mast. This method samples the magnitude of the illuminating field at fixed spatial points (controlled by a laser tracking) in the Test Zone to determine the magnitude of the ripple and thus the Quiet Zone. These experimental data are then statistically processed to determine the measurement uncertainty at a given frequency. This paper introduces and analyses the results of a measurement campaign dedicated to the characterization of the Quiet Zone of the CEA’s indoor facility CAMELIA.

Challenging Compact Range Applications Featuring Recent Developments
Josef Migl,Hans-Juergen Steiner, Juergen Habersack, Carsten Schmidt, Christian Hoetzel, November 2015

Compensated Compact Range Facilities are the state-of-the-art RF test facilities for spacecraft payload modules and/or antennas. The outstanding features of the compact range technique are the (a) real-time testing capability, (b) easy to use far-field measurement technique, (c) extremely high frequency capability, (d) end-to-end payload testing at multiple test zones due to scanning features, and last but not least the (e) considerable low cross-polar contribution over the full frequency band between 1 - 200 GHz which is one of the important parameters for telecommunication antenna testing.  Upcoming spacecraft antennas with single feed per beam configuration and broadband transponder requirements (up to 500 MHz) need rapid test environments for antenna and payload (end-to-end) measurement campaigns. For the desired wide frequency spectrum the Ka-Band and even higher bands (U, and V) are of interest for the next generation of telecommunication spacecraft antennas. Compensated Compact Ranges provide an excellent test environment for such scenarios. Recent developments for the range feeds up to 200 GHz, a new heavy load and highly accurate specimen positioner design, and the easy enlargeable reflector system within the existing chamber complete the picture of a state-of-the-art test facility for present and future spacecraft testing. The paper will explain the advantages of the selected system design and preferred technology with its resulting features to optimally cover the future requests focusing to new developments in the high frequency range. For typical spacecraft antenna scenarios a comparison between Compact Range and Near-Field facilities will demonstrate the applicability in the frequency range from 1 to 200 GHz. Beside the developed test set-up for the required measurement parameters, typical measurement times and achievable performance with its related error budget will be depicted.







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