Near-field gain of a horn and an open-ended waveguide: Comparison between theory and experiment

Generating a standard electromagnetic field requires knowledge of the gain of the transmitting antenna. The theory and supporting experimental measurements of the near-field gain of a pyramidal horn and an open-ended waveguide (OEG) at 450 MHz are given. The empirical near-field gain for the OEG is derived from experimental results obtained by a two-antenna method at about 2 GHz. The theoretical nearfield gain for the rectangular pyramidal horn is derived from Schelkunoff\´s formula. Two independent near-field gain measurements of these antennas are made using a three-antenna method and a transfer-standard-probe method. The discrepancy between theoretical and experimental results is typically less than dB.