A new design for compact ranges using offset dual-shaped reflectors

A compact-range design is described where dual offset-shaped reflector antenna synthesis techniques are used to produce a reflector aperture distribution which is uniform over most of the aperture but has a Gaussian taper near the edge. The dual chamber method for reducing extraneous subreflector diffraction is also used. An example design for a compact range composed of a dual-shaped offset reflector pair is considered. The axial field dependence is depicted for the offset dual reflector system for D=60 lambda . In order to demonstrate the effect of frequency changes on the results presented, the design was diffraction analyzed for main reflector diameters of D=30 lambda and D=90 lambda . D=60 lambda was found to be a reasonable minimum diameter to choose for ´accurate´ operation of a compact range.<>