SPHERICAL PATTERN MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES FOR LOW DIRECTIVITY ANTENNAS

摘要

Requirements for pattern measurement of antennas with low directivity continue to increase. The wireless communications industry is a significant driving force behind this change, but other fields such as electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) have an emerging need of low directivity antennas that work well to microwave frequency ranges. Traditional microwave techniques used for highly directional antennas are not suitable for testing more broad-beamed or omnidirectional antennas. Spherical pattern measurement systems using dielectric support materials with low permittivity are required to obtain acceptable results. This paper will review several different spherical pattern measurement techniques proffered by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) for testing cellular handsets. It will present a benefit analysis of each method and provide useful information for both the novice and experienced antenna user. It can be shown that with appropriate care, several different techniques can generate the same resulting data, but each method has its own unique benefits and drawbacks. Spherical surface plots of measured data will be provided to illustrate some of the pitfalls related to this type of pattern measurement, and results from a certified test site will be presented.