Welcome to the AMTA paper archive. Select a category, publication date or search by author.
(Note: Papers will always be listed by categories. To see ALL of the papers meeting your search criteria select the "AMTA Paper Archive" category after performing your search.)
The EurAAP (the European Association on Antennas and Propagation) [1] Measurements working group (WG5), constitutes a framework for cooperation to advance research and development of antenna measurements. An important ongoing task of this group is to sustain the Antenna Measurement Intercomparisons. The comparison of each facility measurement of the same reference antenna in a standard configuration results in important documentation and validation of laboratory expertise and competence, allowing to validate and document the achieved measurement accuracy and to obtain and maintain accreditations like ISO 17025. An additional outcome is the improvement in antenna measurement procedures and protocols in facilities and contributions to standards, which is one of the long-term objectives of the EurAAP WG5. Several participants among Europe but also USA and ASIA have joined the activity. These campaigns will also serve for a new task, recently approved within the WG5, of self-evaluation from comparison of the measurement results. An important ongoing campaign involves a X/Ku/Ka-band high gain reflector antenna MVI-SR40 fed by SH4000 Dual Ridge Horn. In this paper we report the results here for the first time. The medium gain ridge horn, MVI-SH800, equipped with an absorber plate to enhance the correlation in different facilities has been the reference antenna of another campaign. In [2] the preliminary results were shown. In this paper we present the final validation. The comparison is reported plotting the gain/directivity patterns and computing the equivalent noise level and the Birge ratio with respect to the reference pattern obtained taking into account the uncertainty declared by each facility.
Techniques for measuring G/T have been previously presented at AMTA; however, there are very few papers that discuss how to measure G/T in a near-field antenna range. One recent paper discussed such a method and gave a brief description within the larger context of satellite payload testing [1]. The paper's treatment of G/T was necessarily brief and gives rise to several questions in relation to the proposed method. Other papers that treated this topic required the antenna aperture to be separable from the back-end electronics, which may not be possible in all cases [2-3]. In this paper, we discuss in great detail a slightly modified version of the G/T measurement method presented in [1]. A signal and noise power diagram is presented that can be useful for understanding how system signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) relates to G/T, and a few common misconceptions concerning the topic of G/T are addressed. The CW-Ambient technique for computing G/T of a Unit Under Test (UUT) from measurements in a planar near-field system is described in detail, and a list of assumptions inherent to the CW-Ambient technique is presented. Finally, the validity of the CW-Ambient technique is assessed by analyzing measured data collected from a separable UUT.
Reducing near-field measurement times is an important challenge for future antenna measurement systems. We propose to incorporate knowledge about material parameters of the antenna measurement environment within the simulation model. To do so, a method-of-moments code with surface discretization is implemented as a side constraint to the near-field far-field transformation problem performed with the fast irregular antenna field transformation algorithm. Transformation and source reconstruction results of synthetic measurement data demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
The major disadvantage of Spherical Near-Field (SNF) measurements is their long acquisition time. To calculate the Antenna Under Test's (AUT) far-field radiation characteristics , a sphere containing the AUT must be sampled. Classically, equiangular sampling is chosen, being the resulting sphere heavily oversampled. Since the Spherical Mode Coefficients (SMCs) are usually sparse, an approach to reduce the measurement time of SNF measurements is to undersample the sphere and to reconstruct the SMCs using compressed-sensing techniques. Using a sampling matrix with a minimum mutual coherence for the given bases of the SMCs increases the probability of recovery. The SMCs are defined in the basis of the spherical harmonics or Wigner D-functions, which limits the geometries in which this technique can be applied. In this work, the application of pointwise probe correction for the description of non-spherical surfaces in the Wigner-D basis expansion is suggested. The chosen sampling points are radially projected onto the measurement surface and the new distance to each point is calculated. New equivalent probe response coefficients are calculated per measurement point according to their distance to the AUT. To compensate for different orientations other than the probe pointing to the AUT's minimum sphere's center, the probe's SMCs are rotated to reflect the real orientation of the probe at each point prior to the calculation of the probe response coefficients. Although more computationally demanding than classical probe correction, this technique allows measurements with different, potentially faster geometries and enables the application of compressed sensing to other, non-spherical conventional scanning systems.
In a previous paper a new referenceless measurement setup based on a reference antenna was used for characterizing the radiation of antennas in the planar scanner [1]. The method is based on using a low-cost receiver to retrieve the amplitude and phase of the signal. This paper explores the limitations of the method for different geometries and implements a multiprobe electromagnetic compatibility measurement system. Once the amplitude and phase are recovered, diagnostic techniques can be applied and also near-field to near or far-field transformations to calculate the field at distances defined by standards. The results demonstrate the good accuracy of the method in comparison with traditional electromagnetic compatibility laboratories.
A reliable technique for antenna array characterization and calibration is demonstrated for two state-of-the-art antenna measurement systems, a near-field system and a compact antenna test range system. Both systems are known to reduce the measurement distance between device under test and the probe antenna in comparison to classical far-field systems, which need to provide at least the Fraunhofer distance as minimum range length. Equivalent magnetic surface currents are derived from measurements, which represent the electric field on the applied Huygens surface. The calculated equivalent magnetic currents are utilized for characterizing two completely different antenna arrays in the millimeter-wave region. Magnitude and phase calibration opportunities of antenna arrays are discussed, as well as the accuracy provided by the proposed calibration technique.
Intrinsic magnetic and dielectric properties of magneto-dielectric composites are typically determined at microwave frequencies with both transmission and reflection data. An iterative method, such as root-finding, is often used to extract the properties in a frequency-by-frequency basis. In some situations, materials may be manufactured on a metal substrate that prevents transmission data from being obtained. This happens when the materials are too fragile or too strongly bonded to the substrate for removal and must be characterized with the metal substrate in place. This paper compares two different free-space extraction algorithms, developed for the simultaneous extraction of complex permittivity and permeability from metal-backed reflection. One of the algorithms relies on reflection measurements of the same material with two known thicknesses. The second method takes advantage of wide bandwidth measurements to fit the reflection to analytical models (e.g. Debye). The accuracy of these methods are evaluated and the stability criteria for the techniques will be discussed, as well as the tolerance of the techniques to various measurement errors.
We demonstrate simultaneous amplitude and phase measurements of a radio-frequency (RF) field through the use of a Rydberg atom-based sensor embedded inside a waveguiding structure. This measurement uses the Rydberg atom-based sensor in a mixer configuration, which requires the presence of a local oscillator (LO) RF field. The waveguiding structure supplies the LO field. The combined waveguide and Rydberg atom system is used to measure phase and amplitude in the near-field of a horn antenna to extract the far-field pattern.
Delivering on the promise of 5G measurements requires the adoption of new RF system technologies that encompass both the mobile user equipment and the active base station. Keeping pace with the impact of new wireless system test parameters such as: Data throughput, Error Vector Magnitude, Symbol Error Rate, and technologies such as mm-wave Massive MIMO, OFDM, and QAM presents significant challenges to antenna test community. For the most part, the market has attempted to react by adapting traditional test equipment to the wireless market however 5G testing presents an ever-greater challenge and demands the incorporation of simulation effects when designing and optimising an antenna test system, especially as these systems have increased in complexity with the adoption of the indirect far-field method and specifically the compact antenna test range (CATR). This paper discusses how 5G communication system parameters affect the design of the CATR and how newly developed simulation capabilities have been incorporated to optimize the CATR design for 5G test applications.
The last published version of the IEEE Std 1128 is the 1998 edition. It is titled "Recommended Practice for RF Absorber Evaluation in the Range of 30 MHz to 5 GHz". Over the years, the document has been used widely for absorber evaluations in electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) applications as well as in antenna and microwave measurement applications. Besides the obvious frequency range which needs to be expanded to satisfy today's applications, several areas are in need of an update. The proposed document will change the upper frequency limit to 40 GHz (with provisions in the document to potentially extend above 40 GHz based on test methods). Measurement uncertainties were not discussed in the IEEE Std. 1128-1998. In the new edition, measurement instrumentation and test methods are expected to be updated with guidance on estimating measurement uncertainties. In the proposed document, a section on absorber evaluations for high power applications is planned, and fire properties and test methods will be included.
Three measurement procedures and associated post-processing for the fast characterization of antennas are presented. First, an approach for the fast diagnosis of antenna under test (AUT), ie. the identification of potential defaults with respect to an ideal antenna, is described. The technique leverages the knowledge of the ideal (expected) radiation pattern and uses a sparse recovery algorithm to locate the few potential defaults. Second, a scheme is proposed to interpolate the near field radiated by the AUT. It exploits the low complexity of the electromagnetic field and does not resort to any knowledge on the AUT. Third, an approach to speed up the measurement of the AUT far field radiation pattern is detailed. The only input is the maximum dimension of the AUT. The technique relies on the sparse expansion of antenna radiation patterns on spherical harmonic basis. For each of the three examples, experimental results will be shown for various complex radiating structures in different frequency bands.
The calibration of the antenna measurements system is a fundamental step which directly influences the accuracy of any power-related quantity of the device under test. In some types of systems, the calibration can be more challenging than in others, and the selection of a proper calibration method is critical. In this paper, the calibration of the truncated spherical near-field ranges typically used for automotive tests is investigated, considering both absorbing and conductive floors. The analyses are carried out in a 12:1 scaled multi-probe system, allowing access to the "true", full-sphere calibration which is used as reference. It will be demonstrated that the substitution (or transfer) method is an excellent calibration technique for these types of systems, if applied considering the efficiency of the reference antenna.
The Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) was initially conceived as an efficient way of testing electrically large antennas at very much reduced, fixed, range lengths than would otherwise be the case. However, when testing lower gain, physically smaller antennas, the measurements can become susceptible to inhomogeneities within the CATR QZ including phenomena associated with edge diffraction effects, feed spill-over, chamber multipath etc. Whilst it has been demonstrated experimentally that many of these measurement artefacts may be effectively mitigated using standard and modern more sophisticated post-processing techniques. This paper supports those findings through simulation of the direct and indirect far field ranges and by careful examination of the data processing chain. Results are presented, the relative success of the various techniques examined and the utility of this is set, and expounded, in the context of modern, i.e. 5G, communications systems.
Radiating performances of vehicle-installed antennas are typically performed in large spherical near-field systems able to accommodate the entire car. Due to the size and weight of the vehicle to be tested, such spherical systems are often nearly hemispherical, and the floor is conductive or covered with absorbers. The main advantage of the first is the ease of the accommodation of the vehicle under test. Conversely, the latter is more time consuming in the setup of the measurements because the absorbers need to be moved in order to be placed around the vehicle. On the other hand, the absorber-covered floors emulate a free-space environment which is a key enabling factor in performing accurate measurements at low frequencies (down to 70 MHz). Moreover, the availability of the free-space response allows easy emulation of the cars' behaviors over realistic automotive environments (e.g. roads, urban areas etc.) with commercially available tools. Such emulations are instead much more challenging when a conductive floor is considered. Furthermore, the raw measurements over conductive floors are a good approximation of realistic grounds (such as asphalts) only in a limited number of situations. For these reasons, when PEC-based automotive measurements are performed, it is often required to retrieve the free-space response, or equivalently, to remove the effect of the conductive ground. In this paper two spatial-filtering techniques (the spherical modal filtering and the equivalent currents) will be experimentally analyzed and compared to verify their effectiveness in removing the effect of the conductive floor. For this purpose, a scaled automotive PEC-based measurement setup has been implemented considering a small spherical multi-probe system and a 1:12 scaled car model. The two techniques will be analyzed considering two different heights of the scaled car model with respect to the conductive floor.
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) radiated emissions measurements above 1 GHz are performed in a nominal free space environment as required by international standards, typically in an anechoic chamber. In an EMC chamber, the test zone consists of a circular region defined by a turn table, where an equipment under test is rotated and measured. The test zone is commonly referred to as quiet zone (QZ). Due to the non-ideal nature of absorbers, multiple reflections in the chamber affect the quality of the QZ. The constructive and destructive interferences from the reflections form standing waves in the QZ. The maximum value of the standing wave is used as the figure of merit for validation of testing facilities. Site Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (sVSWR) as specified in CISPR 16-1-4 is broadly used for the validation of test sites above 1 GHz. This method requires the measurement of six positions along a linear 40 cm transmission path at various locations in the QZ, with a frequency step of no greater than 50 MHz using an omnidirectional-like antenna (e.g. a dipole). Concerns have been raised that this method delivers an overly optimistic result due to both spatial and frequency domain undersampling. In this work, an alternative method to sVSWR for the validation of EMC chambers based on Spherical Mode Coefficients (SMC) is proposed. Two 90 •-rotated measurement cuts of an omnidirectional-like antenna are acquired around the periphery of the circular QZ. The measured situation and cut is replicated by applying translation and rotation of spherical waves to the known SMCs of the used omnidirectional-like antenna and transforming using the spherical wave expansion. The generated and measured cut are compared and the characteristics of the chamber are extracted. The major advantage of this method is the relatively high measurement speed and reliability.
The characterization of antenna radiation patterns in the millimeter wave band are particularly challenging. This is due to the fact that a misalignment of just a few millimeters between the probe and the antenna can generate substantial measurement errors. This paper describes a strategy to reduce measurement errors by introducing a highly precise measurement system using a 6-axis small robotic arm to characterize the performance of a phased array antenna operating at 60 GHz. The position accuracy of the robotic arm itself is approximately 20 m and a maximum far field distance of approximately 380 mm can be achieved. The robot is programmed to perform a spherical trajectory around the array with stops every 0.5⁰ along the path to gather the measured gain. It operates continuously by communicating with a computer, which triggers the network analyzer at preprogrammed locations. The system is tested initially using two horn antennas as the antenna under test (AUT), and the results are presented.
We present a novel, non-contact characterization technique for simultaneous characterization of conventional antenna parameters, including the antenna port input impedance, antenna gain and its radiation pattern, without requiring a network analyzer connection to the antenna port. The test antenna and the network analyzer are considered as a 2-port open-air fixture whose network representation corresponds to the desired antenna parameters. The unknown network parameters of the 2-port open-air fixture are determined via a novel calibration process using 4 offset-short termination standards. The error parameters determined by the calibration are then related to the test antenna port impedance and its gain as a function of frequency. Furthermore, the radiation pattern of the test antenna can also be characterized using measured reflection coefficient at the network analyzer port for two offset-short terminations of the test antenna port, while rotating the test antenna over the desired angular range. This novel technique is particularly attractive for installed-antenna applications where an active connection to the test antenna port is either difficult or undesirable, such as on-chip antennas and implanted antennas, to name a few. To demonstrate the efficacy our new method, we present the measured impedance, gain and radiation pattern of a diagonal-horn antenna operating over 360-450 GHz, and a lens-integrated planar butterfly antenna for the 220-325GHz band.
Antenna measurement errors occur due to reflections and diffractions within the measuring chamber. In order to extract and correct the undesired signals, a technique based on test-zone field compensation and spherical wave expansion is applied to Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) and Spherical Near-Field (SNF) measurements of a base transceiver station antenna. The required spherical test-zone field is acquired by simulating the corresponding measurement environment with the multi-level fast multipole method. Due to the numerical complexity of the problem, only the parts of the chamber with a significant influence on the measurement results are modeled. Comparing the determined directivities after applying the correction method, an exact overlap is achieved between the SNF and CATR solution.
Wireless industry through 3GPP has standardized 5G in both FR1 (sub 6 GHz) and FR2 (24.25-52.6 GHz) frequency ranges. While FR1 will be using frequencies already in place for LTE-4G technology, FR2 is dealing with mmWave frequencies. Due to the high free space path loss (FSPL), 5G at mmWave would impose the use of directive antennas on both ends of the communication link, the User Equipment (UE) and the Base Station (BS). A black box approach (i.e. the location of the antenna within the device is unknown) has been agreed to be used for Over The Air (OTA) measurements. The physical center of the device must be aligned with the center of the measurement setup. Hence, the test antennas will likely be offset with respect to the center of the coordinate system. The measurement distance will be for most systems sufficient to minimize the amplitude error while will introduce a phase deviation between the actual spherical wave and the desired plane wave which may cause an effective phase shaping of the radiated beam of the small phased array under test. In this paper we will analyze the impact of the phase curvature on the beam antenna pattern and spherical coverage for the different testing environments. Specifically, simulation of a 5G terminal device with multiple beams will be considered and realistic spherical near field measurement at different finite distances will be emulated also taking into account different measurement antennas (probes).
The major drawback of Spherical Near-Field (SNF) measurements is the comparatively long measurement time, since the scanning of a whole sphere enclosing an Antenna Under Test (AUT) is required to calculate the Spherical Mode Coefficients (SMCs) required for the computation of the far field. Since the SMCs prove to be sparse under certain conditions, efforts have been made to apply compressed-sensing techniques to reduce the measurement time by acquiring a smaller number of sampling points. These approaches have been successfully tested in simulation using classically acquired measured data. This decouples the measurements from practical problems, such as basis mismatch due to the finite precision of the mechanical positioner and environment effects. In this paper, results from a sparse data acquisition performed with a physical system are reported. To decouple the error introduced by the approach itself from the error introduced by non-idealities in the measurement system, an AUT is measured using both traditional near-field sampling and compressed near-field sampling. The classically acquired data is used both as reference and as source to simulate a synthetic compressed measurement. The effects introduced by real considerations are calculated by comparison between the synthetic compressed measurement and the acquired one, while the error of both is evaluated by comparison to the reference measurement. The results further demonstrate the viability of this method to accelerate SNF measurements and pave the way for further research.