Partial Near-Field Antenna Characterization

In some applications, the whole characterization (WC) of the antenna far-field pattern (FFP) by means of a near-field (NF) data, is not strictly required, but, on the contrary, just the partial knowledge of the FFP, along some cuts, is of interest. A new approach for the partial reconstruction is here presented: assigned the specifications on the partial characterization (PC) in terms of FFP cuts to be evaluated and tolerable characterization error, the proposed general strategy determines, in a rigorous mathematical framework, the optimal distribution of the measurement points in the NF, reduced in number with the respect to the WC, which shortens the acquisition time. The approach has been validated through a wide numerical and experimental analysis.