Pilot signal-based real-time measurement and correction of phase errors caused by microwave cable flexing in planar near-field tests

Millimeter and submillimeter wave receivers in scanning planar near-field test systems are commonly based on harmonic mixing and thus require at least one flexible microwave cable to be connected to them. The phase errors originated in these cables get multiplied and added to the phase of the final detected signal. A complete submillimeter setup with on-the-fly measurement of phase errors is presented. The novel phase error correction system is based on the use of a pilot signal to measure the phase errors caused by cable flexing. The measured phase error surface in the quiet-zone region of a 310 GHz compact antenna test range (CATR) based on a hologram is shown as an application example. The maximum measured phase error due to the cable within a 80×90 cm² scan area was 38°.