Calibration methodology for a 3D radiation pattern set-up of probe-fed millimeter-wave antennas

In this article, we present a radiation pattern measurement setup for probe‐fed millimeter‐wave antennas and the associated calibration procedure. Compared with other existing facilities, our setup has one major innovation: it is composed of two rotating arms allowing measuring the radiated field of a probe‐fed antenna over the quasi‐3D sphere. The calibration challenges and issues encountered at 60 GHz are thoroughly described. We especially detail a specific calibration procedure to improve the accuracy of the measurements. To illustrate our methodology, the 3D radiation pattern measurement of a novel monopole‐type antenna etched over a glass substrate is presented. Experimental results versus simulation results are compared. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:1183–1189, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com