An Overview of Near-field Sub-millimeter Wave Antenna Test Applications

This paper provides an overview of planar near- field antenna test systems developed for submillimeter wave applications used for earth observation and radio astronomy. Examples are shown of some of these test systems and methods described to overcome technical restrictions, limiting performance at very high RF frequencies. Aspects like thermal structural change, RF cable phase instability and scanner planarity are addressed. These methods have been implemented and validated on practical real-world applications up to 660 GHz and 950 GHz. These extreme cases have lead to the development of low cost commercial test systems, making antenna testing in the V and W-bands cost effective and viable today.