A new aperture plane method of measuring antenna surface errors

Author

Legg, T.H.

Author_Institution

Herzberg Inst. of Astrophys., Nat. Res. Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ont., Canada

Volume

42

Issue

1

fYear

1994

fDate

1/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

116

Lastpage

119

Abstract

A scheme for measuring surface errors of reflector antennas is proposed in which the phase of the signals from small areas of the wavefront are compared one by one to the phase of the signal from the rest of the wavefront. The comparison is accomplished by periodically changing the phase of the signal from each small area by ±90°. For convenience and economy, the measurement can be made in an aperture plane of an antenna feed system, and can be done in real time with the antenna pointing steadily at the source being observed. Estimates are made of the signal power required for the measurement, and three means of modulating the phase are suggested, one of which allows the surface error of the antenna to be corrected as well as measured

Keywords

antenna feeders; antenna testing; measurement errors; reflector antennas; antenna feed system; antenna surface errors measurement; aperture plane method; phase modulation; reflector antennas; signal phase; signal power; wavefront; Antenna feeds; Antenna measurements; Aperture antennas; Area measurement; Phase estimation; Phase measurement; Power measurement; Real time systems; Reflector antennas; Surface waves;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-926X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/8.272311

Filename

272311