Measurement Methodology for Fast Antenna Testing Using Existing PNF Ranges

In this paper, we investigate the achievable time savings in planar near-field (PNF) measurement of high gain antennas using a planar wide-mesh scanning (PWMS) approach [1]-[2]. The PWMS employs at least four times less measurements points than standard scanning without degrading the measurement accuracy leading to an under-sampling factor of four. Such mesh scanning can be implemented on standard planar near-field systems similar to the ESTEC, Hertz PNF scanner [3], [4]. The measurement accuracy vs time-saving for the wide-mesh approach is investigated using the numerical model of a highly-shaped Ku-band reflector antenna. This antenna is a realistic representation of what is currently flying on typical satellites with European coverage such as Eutelsat W [5]. The Near Field to Far Field transformation accuracy is investigated by comparing traditional and PWMS results using the same base data from the antenna model. A discussion on implementation on existing scanners and the relation with measurement time-savings is included. The experimental verification of the technique will be included in the conference presentation.