A novel method to measure small antennas using a wideband coaxial cone TEM cell

Abstract

AbstractThis paper presents a novel method to measure physically small antennas using a coaxial cone transverse electromagnetic wave (TEM) cell. Due to the ultra‐wideband, large electric field strength, and high dynamic range characteristics, coaxial cone provides a reliable environment to measure parameters such as gain and antenna factor of small antennas. The frequency could cover 200 MHz–40 GHz. To investigate the suitability of the coaxial cone TEM cell to measure antenna, measurements for a wideband small antenna and a horn antenna are carried out. And the validity of this method is verified through comparison of the obtained results, the measurement uncertainty is evaluated. Compared to an anechoic chamber, the space, cost, and time requirements are reduced drastically. Accordingly, this method could be a more effective alternative way to conventional methods such as the three antennas method and the two antennas method using anechoic chambers.