14' x 14' Portable Planar Near-Field Scanner System (PPNFSS) for the AEGIS Array
Authors: George E. Mc Adams, Richard Romanchuk
Publication: AMTA 1999
Copyright Owner: NSI-MI Technologies
This paper presents an accurate and portable method for RF testing of AN/SPY-1 Antenna Arrays on Navy ships. With four antennas per ship, the usual methods for RF testing are time consuming and very costly. Currently, the most thorough and accurate method of testing is to remove an array and ship it to the original equipment manufacturer's near-field facility. A Portable Planar Near-Field Scanner System (PPNFSS) was developed by Nearfield Systems Inc. for the Naval Surface Warfare Center-PHD to perform RF testing without removing the array from the ship. The system consists of a portable robotic scanner, optics, microwave subsystem, environmental/anechoic enclosure and active thermal control system. The system was designed to mount to various array/ship configurations with severe envelope and environment constraints. The design is modular to allow packaging in ruggedized transit cases and a 48 ft. shipping container.