The characterization of antenna radiation patterns in millimeter‐wave (mmW) bands can be particularly challenging. Due to a small wavelength, minute misplacement of the probe antenna in the order of few millimeters can generate substantial errors in the measured pattern. A highly precise measurement system that incorporates a 6‐axis compact robotic arm is implemented to overcome this challenge. System testing shows a positional accuracy and repeatability of approximately 20 μm or 0.004λ at 60 GHz. After implementation, programming, and testing, the system is used to measure gain patterns on three different mmW antennas. The radiation pattern of a 50–75 GHz standard gain horn antenna demonstrated the accurate measurement at the far‐field using the robotically controlled system. Furthermore, the characterization of the center element pattern of a 60 GHz phased array has shown that the measurements with this system are repeatable and suitable for arrays as well. Additionally, we performed near‐field measurements by successfully characterizing a 40–60 GHz horn antenna with a planar scan.

中文翻译：

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机械手控制的毫米波天线测量系统

毫米波（mmW）波段中天线辐射方向图的表征可能特别具有挑战性。由于波长小，探头天线的微小错位可能会在所测量的方向图上产生几毫米的数量级误差。克服了这一难题，采用了集成了6轴紧凑型机械手的高精度测量系统。系统测试显示，在60 GHz下的位置精度和重复精度约为20μm或0.004λ。在实施，编程和测试之后，该系统将用于测量三种不同mmW天线上的增益方向图。50-75 GHz标准增益喇叭天线的辐射方向图显示了使用机器人控制系统在远场的准确测量。此外，60 GHz相控阵中心元件图案的特性表明，使用该系统进行的测量是可重复的，并且也适用于阵列。此外，我们通过平面扫描成功地表征了40–60 GHz喇叭天线，从而进行了近场测量。