A contact-less small antenna characterization through impedance modulation

In small antennas S-parameters measurements are highly influenced by the measurement equipment as well as the environment. In order to avoid this inconvenience, a wireless and non-invasive characterization setup is required. In this paper a novel contact-less measurement setup is developed based on the radar cross section (RCS) measurement method using impedance modulation. A small (2 times 2 cm²) autonomous and self-powered communication device is presented as a system able to change the load impedance of the antenna under test (AUT) to produce impedance modulation. The device contains a microprocessor, a switch able to change between three different load impedances and a 5 V battery.