Accuracy evaluation for antenna measurements at mm-wave frequencies

Abstract

Measurements of integrated antennas are often cumbersome and erroneous. Inaccuracies of the measurement setup, unknown material parameters, and metal parts in the immediate surrounding of the antenna under test (AUT) cause errors to the measured parameters. In order to be able to measure integrated antennas at frequencies beyond 100 GHz with high accuracy, a dedicated measurement setup was developed. For the quantification of the accuracy of the setup various measurements with different parameters were taken and their individual impact on the result was analyzed. On this basis the accuracy of measured antenna parameters like gain, directivity, and radiation pattern at 280 GHz was calculated as well as their sensitivity towards certain uncertainties in the measurement process.