Back-scattered Field Overmoded Waveguide Measurement Chamber for Integrated Antennas at 100+GHz

Research Project, 2021 – 2022

Purpose and goal
We propose a new mm-wave overmoded-waveguide measurement chamber that could overcome the critical propagation loss of conventional antenna anechoic chambers at frequencies beyond 100 GHz by creating a confined propagation environment for an antenna under test (AUT) instead of free space. The propagation loss of such a confined environment has been estimated to be at least one order of magnitude smaller at 100 GHz for typical integrated antennas (e.g. Antenna-on-Chip, Antenna-in-Package, and Antenna-in-Module).

Expected results and effects
This unique combination of the low-loss confined propagation environment and the wireless interface with the integrated antennas is an important enabler of the future Over-The-Air testing platforms for the next-generation wireless systems. The targeted outcome of a full project, following this pre-study, is an experimental demonstrator of such an OWG chamber for the characterization of integrated antennas at frequencies within 100-140 GHz. The full project is likely to yield results that can be commercialized by the industrial partners.

Planned approach and implementation
The scope of the planned work effort is based on the in-kind contributions of the industrial participants at Ericsson and the VINNOVA cash funding to Chalmers. All partners contribute to the implementation of several tasks. The project is divided into four work packages (WP1-WP4) that run in parallel during the project period: WP1: Project leadership WP2: Theoretical method for free-space antenna characteristics extraction WP3: Numerical analysis of the baseline chamber design WP4: Practical design guidelines and extension decisions towards the targeted demonstrator