Estimating the Effect of Higher Order Modes in Spherical Near-Field Probe Correction
Authors: Allen Newell, Stuart Gregson
Publication: AMTA 2012
Copyright Owner: NSI-MI Technologies
The numerical analysis used for efficient processing of spherical near-field data requires that the far-field pattern of the probe can be expressed using only azimuthal modes with indices of μ = ±1. (1) If the probe satisfies this symmetry requirement, near-field data is only required for the two angles of probe rotation about its axis of χ = 0 and 90 degrees and numerical integration in χ is not required. This reduces both measurement and computation time and so it is desirable to use probes that will satisfy the μ = ±1 criteria. Circularly symmetric probes can be constructed that reduce the higher order modes to very low levels and for probes like open ended rectangular waveguides (OEWG) the effect of the higher order modes can be reduced by using a measurement radius that reduces the subtended angle of the AUT. Some analysis and simulation have been done to estimate the effect of using a probe with the higher order modes (2) – (6) and the following study is another effort to develop guidelines for the properties of the probe and the measurement radius that will reduce the effect of higher order modes to minimal levels. This study is based on the observation that since the higher order probe azimuthal modes are directly related to the probe properties for rotation about its axis, the near-field data that should be most sensitive to these modes is a near-field polarization measurement. This measurement is taken with the probe at a fixed (x,y,z) or (θ,φ,r) position and the probe is rotated about its axis by the angle