Characterization of antennas for mobile and wireless terminals by using reverberation chambers: improved accuracy by platform stirring

It has previously been demonstrated that the radiation efficiency of antennas can be measured in reverberation chambers. The measurement accuracy is known to be better the larger the size. The present paper shows that the measurement accuracy can be improved by a factor between 4 and 6 by locating the antenna under test on a movable platform. This is demonstrated in the 900 MHz GSM band by measurements in a reverberation chamber of dimensions 1.0 m /spl times/ 0.8 m /spl times/ 1.0 m. We refer to the moving platform as a new stirring method: platform stirring.