Advanced antenna performance testing
AssigneeKeysight Technologies, Inc.
InventorDean Gienger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for testing advanced antennas includes an antenna unit controller, a radio frequency instrument, and a test controller. The antenna unit controller is configured to connect to a device that includes an advanced antenna under test in an anechoic chamber. The radio frequency instrument is connected to a probe antenna in the anechoic chamber. The test controller is configured to control the test of the advanced antenna by controlling the antenna unit controller to reconfigure the advanced antenna under test, and by controlling the radio frequency instrument to communicate wirelessly with the device via the probe antenna in each of a sequence of multiple configurations of the advanced antenna while the advanced antenna remains in the anechoic chamber.
Claims20
A system for testing a reconfigurable antenna under test in an anechoic chamber, the system comprising:
- an antenna unit controller connected to the reconfigurable antenna under test in the anechoic chamber;
- a radio frequency instrument connected to a probe antenna in the anechoic chamber;
- a test controller configured to control a test of the reconfigurable antenna by controlling the antenna unit controller to sequentially reconfigure electronically the reconfigurable antenna under test into a predetermined subset of configurations selected from a plurality of potential configurations, and by controlling the radio frequency instrument to communicate using wireless communications with the reconfigurable antenna under test via the probe antenna in each configuration of the predetermined subset of configurations while the reconfigurable antenna remains in the anechoic chamber;
- and
- a classifier that receives and classifies data collected by the test controller in response to the wireless communications between the reconfigurable antenna under test and the probe antenna in each configuration of the predetermined subset of configurations to characterize performance of the reconfigurable antenna under test,
- wherein the test comprises measuring predetermined characteristics of radiation patterns resulting from each configuration of the predetermined subset of configurations to produce measured characteristics and providing the measured characteristics to the classifier as the collected data, the classifier comparing the measured characteristics of each radiation pattern against predetermined thresholds to produce classification data and classifying the reconfigurable antenna under test according to performance quality based on the classification data, and
- wherein the predetermined thresholds for each radiation pattern are established through previous testing of test antennas in each of the plurality of potential configurations.
A method for testing a reconfigurable antenna in an anechoic chamber, the method comprising:
- accepting a connection from a first reconfigurable antenna in an anechoic chamber to an antenna unit controller;
- controlling electronically reconfigurations of the first reconfigurable antenna into each configuration of a predetermined subset of configurations selected from a plurality of potential configurations, while the first reconfigurable antenna remains in the anechoic chamber;
- controlling a probe antenna in the anechoic chamber to communicate using wireless communications with the first reconfigurable antenna in each configuration of the predetermined subset of configurations while the first reconfigurable antenna remains in the anechoic chamber, during a first test;
- and
- collecting data corresponding to responses of the first reconfigurable antenna to the wireless communications in each configuration of the predetermined subset of configurations;
- and
- classifying the collected data to characterize performance of the first reconfigurable antenna,
- wherein the first test comprises measuring predetermined characteristics of radiation patterns resulting from each configuration of the predetermined subset of configurations to produce measured characteristics, providing the measured characteristics as the collected data, and comparing the measured characteristics of each radiation pattern against predetermined thresholds to classify the collected data, and
- wherein the predetermined thresholds are established through previous testing of test antennas in each of the plurality of potential configurations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.