Reconstruction of measured antenna patterns and related time-varying aperture fields

In this paper, the authors present a method to reconstruct measured antenna radiation patterns and their related time-varying aperture fields. The method is based on a model that accounts for the measurement scenario and the antenna radiation characteristics through its radiation centers. The inputs to the model are radiation pattern measurements over a certain bandwidth. Solving the model provides the number of radiation centers, the patterns coupled with each radiation center, and the time delay at which these patterns would be measured. With this information one can reconstruct the measured pattern and retrieve the time-varying aperture fields of the antenna. The latter also provides a diagnostic tool for complex radiating structures. The method and the model are validated with measurements performed in a compact range of two spaceborne antennas.