A novel method for determining the lower bound of antenna efficiency

Determining absolute transmitting efficiency has been a difficult task since the inception of the antenna itself. While methods that can measure transmitting efficiency do exist, most are complicated and prone to high uncertainties. A new method is presented for determining the lower bound of absolute transmitting efficiency by use of a reverberation chamber. This method is able to characterize both the transmitting and receiving efficiency of an antenna. After the method is derived, numerical simulations are presented. These simulations can provide insight into the behavior of the equations and necessary assumptions. Then, by use of measurement data, the method for transmitting efficiency is compared to efficiency data obtained from another reverberation chamber method. Data for this comparison will come from two different types of antennas: a wide band dual-ridged horn, and a narrow-band meta-material inspired antenna. Following the measurement data, possible areas for improvement of the method and its optimization are discussed.