Target Products
Various Base Station (BS) Antennas
Purpose
Characterize the antenna array elements through measurements and simulations of dozens of mobile base station antennas.
Procedure
- Utilized a large non-reflective open antenna range for far-field testing. Due to the large size of the antenna arrays, a sufficiently large distance between the antenna and the receiving horn antenna had to be provisioned. The horn antenna had to be calibrated for that distance.
- Built a heavy-duty remote-controlled rotating antenna stand for high-precision automated antenna pattern measurement process.
- Removed radomes. Identified and isolated the elements of interest.
- Connected coaxial 50Ω pig-tails to the inputs of each antenna element.
- Isolated all ports from the arrays’ backplane signal distribution network.
- Utilized a signal generator, a spectrum analyzer and a vector network analyzer (VNA) to capture measurement data.
- Performed radiation pattern measurements over each operating band in horizontal and vertical planes for co-polarized field of both orthogonal polarization ports by completing a 360-degree azimuth sweep and a 360-degree elevation sweep in 5-degree steps.
- Measured input impedance over the same operating bands using a calibrated VNA.
- Developed CAD models to represent each antenna element and its surrounding elements and structures.
- Performed HFSS Simulations runs to calculate the resulting antenna patterns and return loss.
Result
- Prepared 2-D pattern plots at each required frequency band.
- Plotted Smith Chart and graph of reflection coefficient (return loss) vs. frequency.
- Comparisons were made between the antenna measurements and simulation results.
- Executive summary reports and detailed test and simulation reports were developed.
- Produced all results within the client’s stringent deadlines.
More Case Studies
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