Configuring and Verifying Reverberation Chambers for Testing Cellular Wireless Devices

Reverberation chambers provide a repeatable test environment for laboratory over-the-air testing and represent a viable solution for testing large-form-factor wireless devices. Such tests often involve “imperfect chamber” configurations in which the chamber is loaded with RF absorbing material. We provide step-by-step guidance on configuring and verifying chamber performance for over-the-air tests of single-antenna cellular wireless devices. We illustrate these methods with numerous examples, highlighting the tradeoffs in various chamber configurations. We conclude by calculating total radiated power and total isotropic sensitivity for a cellular-enabled wireless router and discuss methods for assessing uncertainty in estimates of these quantities.