Measurement of low sidelobe antennas in far-field test ranges

Recently, there is a renewed interest in measuring low side-lobe antennas in indoor far-field test ranges. Indoor far-field ranges can be grouped in to two categories: direct illumination and in-direct illumination ranges. In this paper, we compare the performance of two direct illumination antenna test ranges with a compact antenna test range using a two-meter linear phased array antenna. The antenna is designed to operate at 3 GHz and can be scanned +/- 30 degrees off the broadside direction. The inter-element spacing is approximately 0.4lambda and the amplitude of the various antenna elements is adjusted to achieve different side-lobe level. Uniform, Hanning (Hann) and Hamming amplitude distributions will be used in this presentation. The geometry of the three test ranges and some sample results are given below.