Experimental Tests on a Near-Field to Far-Field Transformation Technique Using a Nonconventional Plane-Rectangular Scanning

This work concerns the experimental validation of an efficient near-field – far-field (NF–FF) transformation using a nonconventional plane-rectangular scanning, particularly suitable from the NF data reduction and time saving viewpoints when dealing with quasi-planar antennas. Such a NF scanning technique has been named planar wide-mesh scanning, since the sample grid is characterized by meshes wider and wider when going away from the center. It relies on the use of the nonredundant sampling representation of electromagnetic fields based on the oblate ellipsoidal modelling of the antenna. An optimal sampling interpolation scheme is then used to efficiently recover the NF data needed by the probe compensated NF–FF transformation with the standard plane-rectangular scanning. The experimental tests, carried out at the planar NF facility of the antenna characterization laboratories of Selex ES, have fully confirmed the effectiveness of this technique.