Partial Near Field Antenna Characterization

In some applications, the whole characterization of the antenna far-field pattern by means of a near-field data, is not strictly required, but, on the contrary, just the partial knowledge of the far-field pattern, along some cuts, is of interest. A new approach for the partial reconstruction is here presented: assigned the specifications on the partial characterization in terms of far-field pattern 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 near-field, reduced in number with the respect to the whole characterization, which shortens the acquisition time. The approach has been validated through a wide numerical and experimental analysis.