Characterizing large-form-factor devices in a reverberation chamber

With new technologies such as machine-to-machine communications there is a growing need to test large-form-factor devices in reverberation chambers. The performance of the reverberation chamber can be affected by the physical characteristics of these devices. In this paper it is discussed how the spatial uniformity is affected by a large object. A distinction is made between reflecting and absorbing objects. A link is shown between the spatial uniformity and the K-factor. It is shown that large metallic objects cause minimal degradation in the spatial uniformity. Absorbing objects can cause substantial degradation in the spatial uniformity, motivating the need for testing guidelines for these objects.