Advances in cylindrical Mathematical Absorber Reflection Suppression

In many instances, reflections within antenna test ranges constitute the largest single component within the facility-level error budget [1]. For some time, a frequency domain measurement and post-processing technique named Mathematical Absorber Reflection Suppression (MARS) has been successfully used to reduce range multi-path effects within spherical near-field and far-field antenna measurement systems [2, 3, 4]. More recently, a related technique has been developed for use with cylindrical near-field antenna measurement systems [5, 6]. This paper provides an introduction to the measurement technique and novel probe pattern corrected near-field to far-field transform algorithm. It then presents the most recent results of an ongoing validation campaign detailing a number of the most recent advances which are found to yield improvements comparable to those attained with the corresponding spherical MARS technique. The results are discussed and conclusions presented.