The new large antenna positioning system for over-the-air testing at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

摘要

This paper introduces the new Large Antenna Positioning System (LAPS) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). For the last eight years NIST has been pioneering the use of robotics for antenna measurements. Starting with the development and integration of the Configurable Robotic Millimeter-Wave Antenna (CROMMA) facility. CROMMA was designed to be reconfigurable to different near-field antenna measurement geometries and perform antenna measurements from 100 to 500 GHz. Probe position repeatability of 25 μm was achieved using coordinate metrology feedback. However, the single-robotic-armed CROMMA was restricted to small antennas. To overcome this limitation, NIST developed the concept of a dual-robot system with one fixed and the other mounted on a large linear rail slide. Using characterization of the robotic arm joints and segments, the LAPS will have open loop probe position accuracies of 200 μm to facilitate antenna measurements up to 30 GHz.