Probe pattern inaccuracy in fully probe corrected multilevel plane wave based near-field far-field transformed planar near-field measurements

The uncertainty in the transformed far field of an antenna under test due to probe pattern inaccuracy is investigated for multilevel plane wave based near-field far-field transformation algorithm. A random error based on signal-to-noise ratio of the probe far field magnitude is introduced in the probe pattern which is then used for full probe correction. To avoid the effect of other environmental and measurement errors, synthetic approach utilizing electric dipoles to synthesize an antenna under test is used. The deterioration in the transformed far field gets significant as the inaccuracy in the probe pattern is increased, thus providing a rough limit on the probe pattern inaccuracy for the required accuracy in the far field. The error behavior is then compared with standard transformation technique employing 2D Fast Fourier Transform.