Parametric study of probe positioning errors in articulated spherical near-field test systems for mm-wave applications

This paper describes an articulated arm spherical near-field scanner design which transports a probe over a hyper-hemispherical surface that surrounds a stationary test antenna. Surface profile data collected with a laser tracker is presented and a parametric study performed to investigate the viability of testing at mm-wave frequencies is described. Parameters such as probe radial distance, and angular positioning are investigated to assess to what extent spherical near-field testing can be performed using this structure.