MEAS453 - Planar Near-Field Antenna Measurements

The problems associated with far-field ranges, primarily cost, are one of the motivating factors in developing near-field measurements. The fact that one can calculate the far-field pattern from near-field measurements is the basis for this technique. One thing that near-field measurements can do, that traditional far-field ranges cannot, is to also solve for field distribution in the antenna aperture, which is a good diagnostic tool, and required to calibrate certain types of phased array antennas. This course covers the basics of planar near-field measurements, both the theory and application.

• Introduction
• Review
  • Plane Waves
    • Mathematical Form
    • The Wave Vector
    • Direction Cosines
  • The Isotropic Radiator
  • Polarization
    • Linear Polarization
    • Circular Polarization
    • Elliptical Polarization
• Foundational Principles
  • The Huygens–Fresnel Principle
  • The Nyquist Sampling Theorem
  • The effect of a finite aperture
  • Plane wave components measured in a measurement plane
• The Planar Near-Field Range
• Instrumentation
  • The Chamber
  • The Probe
  • The Scanner
  • The AUT Mount and Support Equipment
  • Alignment Tools
  • The Standard Antenna
  • The RF Components
  • Safety-related Instrumentation
• Measurement Details
  • General Measurement Procedure
  • Probe Compensation
  • Drift Compensation
  • Leakage Evaluation
  • Frequency and Beam Multiplexing
  • Crosstalk and Channel Balance
  • AUT/Probe Multiple Reflections
• Data Processing Steps
• Periodic Maintenance
• Summary

This course assumes familiarity with basic RF measurements, the basic mathematics of wave phenomenon and vectors, as well as at least a familiarity with the concept of Fourier Transforms.

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