Data Processing And Software Design Of The Antenna Testing System In Far Field

Antenna testing is an indispensable link in the field of antennaresearch, it is an important way ofanalysis and design of the antenna. By measuring the antenna pattern of the antenna, we can get some of the performance parameters such as beamwidth, sidelobe level, deep lobe zero difference, which is essential for understanding the performance of the antenna.Antenna pattern test automation software is designed and developed to meet these requirements.In this paper, the basic theoretical knowledge of antenna pattern testing was studied. Combining with the theory and the method to test the field antenna pattern as used inthis paper,the main disturbances in the testing process including the impact of multipath interference, the error introduced by the positional deviation between the total station and the measured antenna, and the error caused by the distance change between the target antenna and the antenna which transmitted the signals because of the movement ofaerial vehicle which was used in the testing process, the data processing measures to reduce the measurement error by a specific theoretical analysis was gave.In the specific field antenna test software design process, based on LabWindows/CVI software development platform, and through the modular design ideas, the entire antenna pattern testing software was divided into four modules. The modules include the parameters testing module,the instrument driver module, the data processing module and the interactive module. In the parameters testing module, the paper analyzes the concrete realization of emission pattern testing, receive pattern testing and zero offset testing, this module is core module for the antenna pattern test, antenna pattern data was measured bythis module. In the instrument driver module,equipments used in the field test, including the antenna turntable, the total station, the signal source and the vector network analyzer was controlled. Through this module, the testing process was achieved and the antenna pattern data was received and transported. In the data processing module, the testing process of the key performance indicators in the process of antenna pattern testingwas analyzed. What is more, thealgorithm flowchart and the data processing flow chart of error interference was gave. The data processingof antenna pattern testing software was combined by the basic data processing, this module is an important module for the antenna pattern testingand data processing. Finally, the major modules combinethe complete antenna pattern test softwareby the total human-computer interaction interface.Based on the designed field antenna pattern testing software, thebase functions of the software was verified according to the basic functions of the software needs. Verification results show that the software have a complete basic functions, andthe indicators and meet the test requirements.