Verification of the Rician K-factor-based uncertainty model for measurements in reverberation chambers

Journal article, 2015

Measurements in reverberation chamber (RC) produce data that are random, and therefore they need to be processed from the statistical point-of-view for obtaining the desired characteristics and the accuracy. The complex channel transfer function in the RC follows complex Gaussian distribution provided that the RC is well stirred. The authors have recently presented a new uncertainty model based on the presence of an unstirred component of the transfer function, which was modelled by introducing an average Rician K-factor. The model was validated in two RCs with translating mode-stirring plates, being able to correctly describe the improvement in accuracy by rotating the antenna under test, and by blocking the line-of-sight between this and the fixed RC antenna(s). In the present study, they apply this uncertainty model to four RCs with different settings (e.g. RC volumes, number of plates or fixed RC antennas, translating and rotating mode-stirrers etc.). For each RC, they examine the measurement uncertainty under different loading conditions. To repeat (during the different measurements) the actual mode-stirrer positions at which the transfer function is sampled, they conduct all the measurements with stepwise (instead of continuous) mode-stirring. The model is shown to work well for all the cases.