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Finding an off the shelf antenna tuned for the operating frequency of a small satellite mission can be difficult, especially when the mission uses an experimental license in a frequency band that is not used for commercial or amateur radio systems. This paper discusses how electromagnetic modeling software can be used to assist adapting commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) antennas to other operating frequencies than the ones for which they have been originally designed. The discussion is illustrated with a case study outlining how a COTS cross-polarized UHF Yagi amateur radio antenna is adapted for operation in the 400 MHz experimental bands.
We present a preliminary study of a modal (partial wave) expansion of the field used to characterize a propagation channel. We assume that the measurements of the scalar, two-dimensional field from which the modal expansion coefficients are obtained, contain Gaussian phase noise with zero mean. Three spatial sampling patterns of the field are considered. We find that the accuracy of the reconstructed field is strongly influenced by the spatial sampling pattern.
This paper investigates the use of a reverberation chamber for antenna radiation pattern measurements allowing for significant cost reduction compared to anechoic environments. Our method utilizes averaging of paddle measurements to replicate anechoic data. We discuss both a correlation experiment, to determine how many degrees the reverberation paddle must rotate to create an uncorrelated measurement based on a 0.5 correlation threshold, and a radiation pattern measurement. Two matched horn antennas are used and operated between 1 GHz and 18 GHz. Good agreement is found between our measurements taken in a reverberation chamber and those taken by the manufacturer of the antenna in an anechoic chamber. We find that the main lobe radiation pattern of our antenna can be estimated with more certainty than the back-lobe radiation using a reverberation chamber. The goal is to use this simple and cost-effective method to determine radiation patterns for embedded antennas with unknown patterns, such as those within wireless devices.
We use a simple program to compute fields radiated by a collection of elementary electromagnetic dipoles located at arbitrary points within the measurement sphere. The simulated measurement data have been used to provide a direct and convincing demonstration of the accuracy and robustness of both the standard and position compensated NIST SNF code.
The growth of connected mobile devices in the current network and new applications such as real-time communication, video streaming and others, exponentially increases the throughput demand. The proposed paper presents a numerical and experimental study of propagation and coverage on a 91 m² indoor environment at 24.15 GHz. The numerical analysis has been made with the support of Altair WinProp™ software in order to estimate the environment coverage map. The numerical study is experimentally validated by collecting error vector magnitude (EVM) measurements, in specific positions, of a 160 Mbit/s QAM signal. The transmission is made by a 12-dBi gain omnidirectional slotted waveguide antenna array with approximately 1 GHz of operational bandwidth. Experimental results presented a 40% coverage for EVM below 12%.
The Conex Antenna, Radar, and Measurement Equipment Lab (CARAMEL) is a ten-element VHF antenna array that operates from 30 MHz-120 MHz with an attached lab space. This array was developed for use in low frequency Radar Cross Section (RCS) measurements. The antenna elements support both vertical and horizontal polarizations. The antenna was designed using a genetic algorithm, employing the fragmented aperture technique; measured and modeled data will be presented. The attached lab space is air conditioned and provisioned for rack mounted equipment. The structure uses a modified 20' Conex shipping container where an entire sidewall has been replaced with a reinforced composite radome for the antennas. The overall mechanical frame design included a Finite Element Analysis to ensure structural integrity. The system is intended for long-term standalone use as an outdoor measurement radar system but can be moved using standard shipping container methods. The structure was shipped using a standard cargo carrier from Atlanta, Georgia to White Sands, New Mexico.
In this paper, the concept of a new S-band dual-polarized dielectric rod antenna is discussed. The antenna is composed of two concentric dielectric cylinders. The inner dielectric presents high dielectric constant, while the outer has a lower dielectric constant. Given this configuration, the resulting antenna provides high gain, narrow beamwidth, large bandwidth, and very low cross-polarization. In addition, the antenna is lower size in the transversal dimensions, and is predicted to be lighter than other antennas that provide equivalent performance, especially at low frequencies (S-band). An antenna with such an architecture can be 3D-printed, and therefore, the cost for the fabrication are considerable low. Numerical results of the antenna performance are presented and discussed.
Shipboard phased array radar antennas typically have high gain, low sidelobe specifications, and testing after initial production, overhaul or repair often reveals sidelobes that fail specifications, requiring rework. Further, some systems only allow phase adjustments as a means to fine tune the pattern. To correct sidelobe failures in these systems, the phase distribution of the array is first mapped using near-field scanning techniques, then specific element phases are adjusted, such as by using phase shifters. The standard method of determining phase changes has been based on trying to achieve a nominal phase profile; however, this method does not allow targeting specific problematic sidelobes. The authors have developed a novel method, dubbed "Whack-a-Lobe", which targets suppression of specific sidelobes while minimizing other impacts to the pattern. Recognizing that far-field sidelobes are a summation of complex vectors of the individual elements in the direction of the sidelobe, the authors have developed a cross product technique that identifies elemental vectors orthogonal to a far-field sidelobe vector such that only a minimal phase change to these elemental vectors is needed to reduce the sidelobe level. This technique is targeted, deterministic, and reduces tuning cycles, labor hours and antenna test chamber time.
Antenna gain is the product of directivity and antenna loss. Antenna gain is typically measured by comparing the antenna under test (AUT) to a standard gain horn (SGH) or direct gain measurement using a calibrated probe. This requires an accurate account of power into the AUT and SGH, the loss of all test cables and switches must be measured to obtain an accurate AUT gain. Additionally, SGH calibration uncertainty reduces the quality of the measurement. The gain measurement technique describe here exploits the near-field range capability of accurately producing the pattern of high gain antennas. The near-field range allows the full wave capture of antenna aperture fields and transformation to the far-field with high resolution. The new technique uses the directivity obtained by integrating the far-field pattern, accounts for the spill-over energy not measured by the near-field range, and uses measured network losses of the AUT. It does not require measured losses of test cables and switches. Since AUT losses are typically measured as part of antenna integration the technique reduces overall measurement burden. Accurate calculation of spill-over energy is the key to success. The technique has been shown to yield better accuracy than the typical gain calibration method for multi-beam high gain antennas.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is in process of mandating a vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communications system operating at 5.9 GHz for all new ve hicles to be implemented in the mid 2020's. A key safety feature of this system is to provide alerts allowing the driver time to take evasive action, including situations with obstructed views whe re LIDAR or other line-of-sight based safety systems will not have adequate performance. The safety feature is implemented by e ach vehicle broadcasting a basic safety message (BSM) to all surrounding vehicles out to 300 meters in all directions. The refore, the antenna system shall be capable of transmitting and receiving the BSMs in all directions around the vehicle, ide ally with no pattern nulls. Due to the realities of antenna placement multiple antennas with transmit and receive diversity are needed to achieve the full 360 degree azimuth coverage. As this is a NHTSA regulated requirement the performance of the V2V antenna system will be certified via test. Un fortunately, passive antenna testing is insufficient to fully validate the antenna system. Moreover, the specific diversity algorithms to be used are not defined by the V2V regulation and often vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. And e ven if all manufacturers are using maximal ratio combining for receive diversity and cyclic delay diversity for transmit diversity, the actual implementation due to differences in digital filters or delays will change the overall performance. The result is that the actual radio performance must be considered when combining the antenna patterns of multiple antennas. This paper discusses a te chnique using a channel emulator and V2V radios to combine antenna gain and determine the realized antenna gain of the combined antenna system after diversity is considered. Using this technique the antenna test engineer can validate the antenna system performance against the V2V required performance.
Testing of automotive antennas are commonly performed in large Spherical Near Field (SNF) ranges [1-3] able to host the entire vehicle to test the effect of the antenna coupling with the structure [3]. The impact of a realistic ground, such as asphalts or soil, on the radiation performance of the vehicle mounted antennas is often a desired information. As long as the free-space response of the vehicle is available, such information can be obtained with fairly good accuracy considering post-processing techniques based on the Image Theory (IT). Automotive systems with absorber material on the floor [3] are thus ideal for estimating such effects because the free-space signature of the vehicle is directly measured and because the radiation pattern is usually available on more than just a hemisphere. In this paper an IT-based technique which allows for the estimation of a realistic ground is proposed and validated with simulations where the measurement setup of a typical multi-probe free-space automotive system is emulated. The impact of the truncation of the scanning area is analyzed in detail showing how advanced post-processing techniques [4-6] can be involved to mitigate the truncation errors and thus obtain a better estimation of the realistic ground effect.
Planar near-field ranges are popular facilities to evaluate far-field antenna patterns. These ranges typically have the scanner plane parallel to the Antenna Under Test (AUT). Having the scanner plane parallel to the AUT can limit the maximum far-field angles that can be properly measured due to the mechanical extents over which the range can accommodate. This paper summarizes a test approach where the AUT is rotated in the near-field such that sufficient energy is concentrated within the range extents, ultimately resulting in an accurate far-field pattern. Measured results will be shown which demonstrate the limitations of the current testing approach, as well as the benefits of the near-field rotation approach.
This paper documents the various elements of the 2017/18 upgrade and presents results from the performance validation measurements with the DTU-ESA 12 GHz Validation Standard antenna conducted before and after the upgrade. The upgrade concerned several major improvements to the building infrastructure, the ventilation system, the antenna positioner, and the probe positioner. The validation measurements involved the averaging of measurements at different distances between the antenna under test and the probe to compensate the multiple reflections between these. This in turn necessitated the investigation of the compensation of the system drift between the measurements and of the sensitivity of the probe calibration to the position of the probe on the probe positioner.
Empirical optimization of software reconfigurable antennas having hundreds of degrees of freedom demands rapid measurement, especially when multiple objectives, e.g. gain at multiple angles and polarizations, are included. This paper describes a measurement technique and process flow for rapid optimization of antenna performance. Previously, such evaluation with mechanical scanning was slow and impractical. The technique is enabled by closed-loop automation of an electronically scanned near field measurement system that determines the hemispherical radiation pattern of a given antenna state in approximately 1 second. In this way thousands of antenna states are evaluated per hour. This paper presents measurements of antenna states optimized using the new technique, and results are compared to measurements of states optimized by the usual far field technique.
Additive manufacturing has become a popular alternative to traditional CAM techniques, as it has reached a suitable maturity and accuracy for microwave applications. The main advantage of the additive technologies is that the manufacturing can be performed directly from the 3D CAD model, available from the numerical simulation of the antenna, without significant modifications. This is a highly desirable feature, in particular for time and cost critical applications such as prototyping and manufacturing of small quantities of antennas. Different 3D-printing/additive manufacturing technologies are available in industry today. The purpose of the paper is an investigation on the accuracy and repeatability of the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) manufacturing technique applied to the construction of a batch of 15 broad band fully metallic chocked horns, operating at X/Ku band, manufactured in parallel. Manufacturing accuracy and repeatability has been evaluated using RF parameters as performance indicators comparing measured data and high accuracy simulations. The radiation patterns have been correlated to the numerical reference using the Equivalent Noise Level, while manufacturing repeatability is quantified on input matching by defining an interference level. These indicators have also been compared to state-of-the-art values commonly found for traditional manufacturing.
NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) is a narrowband radio technology showing very different characteristics compared with traditional wireless protocols. For the first time based on authors' best knowledge, this paper compares the Over-the-Air (OTA) performance of NB-IoT in the Reverberation Chamber (RC) and Anechoic Chamber (AC), which involves two major RF test environment variations in the OTA test arena. In this paper, the Total Radiated Power (TRP) and Total Isotropic Sensitivity (TIS), related to the transmitter and receiver performance of NB-IoT, respectively, are investigated. For TIS test, an early exit algorithm with 95% confidence level based on Chi-Square distribution has been developed to improve the test speed. The test results show a good match (Within CTIA allowed measurement uncertainty) between AC and RC. Our analysis also includes several key parameters, such as test repeatability, measurement uncertainty, and test time, which gives a comprehensive comparison of different aspects between RC and AC for NB-IoT OTA test. It could be noticed as well that the early exit algorithm based on Chi-Square distribution improves the test time performance significantly without compromising the test accuracy.
This paper presents the second phase of the development of a new measurement technique to determine antenna system noise temperature using data acquired from a planar near-field measurement. In the first phase, it was shown that the noise temperature can be obtained using the plane-wave spectrum of the planar near-field data and focusing on the portion of the spectrum in the evanescent region or "imaginary space". Actual evanescent modes are highly attenuated in the latter region and therefore the spectrum in this region must be produced by "errors" in the measured data. Some error sources such as multiple reflections will produce distinct localized lobes in the evanescent region and these are recognized and correctly identified by using a data point spacing of less than /2 to avoid aliasing errors in the far-field pattern. It has been observed that the plane wave spectrum beyond these localized lobes becomes random with a uniform average power. This region of the spectrum must be produced by random noise in the near-field data that is produced by all sources of thermal noise in the electronics and radiated noise sources received by the antenna. By analysing and calibrating this portion of the spectrum in the evanescent region the near-field noise power can be deduced and the corresponding noise temperature determined. In the current phase of tests, planar near-field data has been acquired on a measurement system and the analysis applied to determine the system noise parameters. Measurements have been performed with terminations inserted at three different locations in the RF receiving path: the IF input to the receiver, the input to the mixer and the input to the probe that is transmitting to a centre-fed reflector antenna. The terminations consist of either a load that serves as the "cold" noise source or a noise source with a known noise output for the "hot" noise source.
A new Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) has been built, as a turnkey facility, with a cubic quiet zone (QZ) of 4.8m x 4.8m x 4.8m in the frequency range 0.9-18 GHz. The CATR has been installed in a new building with an isolated and stable foundation. The dimensions of a traditional CATR for such QZ size becomes impractical and requires a very large chamber. A new, diagonally fed, short focal length reflector has been developed to minimize the chamber size to fit the dimensions of 22 m x 14.5 m x 14.5 m.
In this paper, we present a chip antenna in the 27GHz band, targeting 5G measurements. This antenna can be used as reference in mm-wave measurement systems, such as the MVG µ-Lab, feeding the antenna under test through a micro-probe station. The reference antenna is employed to calibrate in gain through the substitution method. The antenna shown in this paper is an array of four patches, fed through a strip-line beam forming network. A transition strip-line to coplanar waveguide allows the antenna be fed by the micro-probe.
This paper discusses about the design, fabrication and testing of a compact P-band (370 MHz) dual circular polarization (CP) patch antenna. The antenna is intended for reflectometry applications by measuring both direct and ground reflected 370 MHz signals transmitted from a satellite or airborne source. This design adopts quadrature-phase hybrid feeding network for achieving excellent polarization purity and supporting simultaneously LHCP and RHCP measurements. Another novel design aspect is placing the feeding network on top of the patch so that the antenna can be mounted directly on a ground plane. Therefore, the resonant modes inside the patch is excited from the top instead of from ground plane as in conventional designs. High dielectric material (ECCOSTOCK®HiK) with a dielectric constant of 9 and loss tangent of 0.002 was used as the substrate to reduce the antenna size. The final antenna has a dimension of 5.9" x 5.9" x 1.3" (excluding ground plane) and weight of 1620 gram. The measured performance on a 1-foot diameter circular ground plane showed 4.5 dBic gain and 23 dB co-polarization to cross-polarization isolation at the center frequency for both LHCP and RHCP. The 1-dB gain bandwidth is approximately 3.7%.