Noise-based antenna terms for active receiving arrays

For active receiving arrays with complex receiver chains, nonreciprocal components in the beamforming network, or digitally sampled and processed output signals, existing transmit-based antenna terms such as gain and radiation efficiency cannot be directly applied. Using the reciprocity principle to obtain an equivalence between the total power radiated by a transmitting antenna and the noise power at the output of a receiving antenna, a new set of more general, receiver-specific antenna terms have been obtained. For passive, reciprocal antennas, the new definitions are rigorously equivalent to existing definitions. The terms have received the IEEE Antenna Definitions Working Group´s support for inclusion pending final approval by the Antenna Standards Committee in the next update of the IEEE standard for antenna terms.