Over-the-air (OTA) testing fundamentals

Reactive near-field region Radiated near-field region (requires phase and magnitude measurement) Far-field region (requires magnitude measurement only)
Far-field quiet zone
Area of planar wave distribution with defined amplitude taper and ripple
Definition of Fraunhofer distance Quiet zone phase deviation and magnitude error

φ(R+d)
∆d +D/2
ND2
RFFmin =
λ

Power
R
RFFmin (N) Phase deviation (φ)
N=1
D2/λ 45° –20 dB
Quiet zone (D) N=2
2D2/λ 22.5°
R φ(R) –25 dB
4D2/λ 11.2° N=4
Aperture size D 8D2/λ 5.6°
–30 dB
N=∞

High gain
–D/2 antenna pattern

The Fraunhofer distance presents the best compromise between a compact test setup, acceptable phase deviation and measurable null

Parameters to consider for quiet zone size and quality

Example of amplitude/phase taper Example of amplitude/phase ripple

1 dB taper or
10° phase
Ripple around
taper (±0.5 dB)

Near-field definitions
Boundary from reactive 1.00 20 The Fraunhofer distance describes Quiet zone for 1 dB taper
to radiated near field for the boundary between the near field

Fraunhofer distance (m)

Distance (m)

radiators with D > λ/2: 0.75

39 GHz
15 and far field:
39 GHz Size of achievable The ripple value impacts
2
D3
0.50 10
2D quiet zone depends measurement accuracy.
RFF =
28 GHz

RNF = 0.62 ⋅ 28 GHz on the taper value.

λ
0.25 5

λ
0.00 0
1 5 9 13 17 21 25 1 5 9 13 17 21 25
Antenna aperture size D (cm) Antenna aperture size D (cm)

All objects become part of the antenna system

Near-field measurements Typical near-field measurements for device characterization Far-field measurements Typical far-field measurements for device characterization
and interfere with RF measurements. Up to ❙ TRP, EIRP, ACLR
❙ Total radiated power (TRP) Far-field measurements are fast and simple and provide higher measure-
10 GHz the specific absorption rate (SAR) is The test setup for near-field measurements is compact, but ❙ Error vector magnitude (EVM)
❙ Peak equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) ment reliability, but path loss is higher and the test setup becomes larger
typically measured in this region. measurements are complex, time-consuming and have higher ❙ Spectrum
❙ Adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) with increasing DUT size and higher frequencies.
❙ Power
uncertainty.
❙ Block error rate (BLER)

How to perform far-field measurements at near-field distances Hardware-based near-field to far-field transformation
Planar wave distribution – indirect far-field (IFF)
Software based near-field to far-field transformation Complex near-field wave generated Planar wave distribution: hardware-based Plane wave, far-field received

Fourier transform – requires phase and magnitude measurement

fx,y = A∫∫Ex,ye+jk∙rdxdy
Complex wave: phase and magnitude measurement Fourier transform: software based Far field: generated
Amplitude Phase

a E-field

PD 5216.4162.82 V01.00
fx,y = A∫∫Ex,ye+jk∙rdxdy
b
E-field Fresnel lens (Fourier optics) Reflector: compact antenna test range (CATR) Plane wave converter (PWC)

Lens Reflector PWC

E-field Quiet zone Quiet zone Quiet zone

Near-field (E-field) surface measurement methods 1.8 m

DUT 1.0 m
DUT DUT
This method is generally not suitable for metrics such as EVM and ACLR due R&S®ATS800B benchtop CATR R&S®PWC200 plane wave converter
to their time dependencies. CATR bandwidth: PWC bandwidth:
❙ min. frequency depends on reflector edge treatment ❙ min. frequency depends on antenna resonance
R = 1.5 m ❙ max. frequency depends on reflector surface roughness ❙ max. frequency depends on antenna spacing
Cylindrical Planar Spherical

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For more information:

Over-the-air_testing_fundamentals_po_5216-4162-82_v0100.indd 1 11.02.2019 14:52:31