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Antenna Calibration Methods for Antenna Factor Measurements

Article  in  International Journal on Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering · January 2012

DOI: 10.4018/ijmtie.2012100104

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 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012 43

Antenna Calibration Methods for

Antenna Factor Measurements
L. Mescia, DEI-Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica e dell’Informazione, Polytechnic
University of Bari, Bari, Italy
O. Losito, DEI-Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica e dell’Informazione, Polytechnic
University of Bari, Bari, Italy
V. Castrovilla, ITEL Telecomunicazioni S.r.l., Ruvo di Puglia, Italy
P. Bia, DEI-Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica e dell’Informazione, Polytechnic University
of Bari, Bari, Italy
F. Prudenzano, DEI-Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica e dell’Informazione, Polytechnic
University of Bari, Bari, Italy

ABSTRACT
In the fields of electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility, it is important to measure the
strength of the electric field originating from electric devices. For this purpose, knowledge of the antenna
factor of a receiving antenna is necessary. According to international standards, the accurate measurement of
the antenna factor involves the use of calibration test sites characterized by very large sizes of both the ground
plane and the empty space volume above it. As a consequence, these setup conditions make the antenna factor
measurements quite expensive for the customer. In this paper, the authors discuss the well know antenna-based
and site-based methods as well as recently measurement method called Antenna Impedance Method as able
to obtain the free-space antenna factor. Moreover, the authors investigate on the suitability of semi-anechoic
chamber for reliable antenna factor calibrations. In particular, the experimental measurements of the antenna
factor obtained by using the antenna impedance method were compared with Standard Field Method and the
data provided by the manufacturer of three antennas (Biconical, Log-periodic and Horn antenna) founding
an agreement with the international standard ANSI C63.5-2006.

Keywords: Antenna Factor, Electric Field, Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), Electromagnetic

Interference (EMI), Ultra-Wideband (UWB)

INTRODUCTION transportation, and military applications includ-

In recent years, wideband and ultra-wideband
(UWB) technologies have gained notable
progress. As a consequence, wideband systems
are now essential parts of modern commercial,
ing airplanes, communication, traffic manage-
ment or safety systems.
By considering that failure in electronic
equipment could cause major accidents or eco-
nomic disasters, the need to improve their elec-

DOI: 10.4018/ijmtie.2012100104

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44 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012
tromagnetic interference (EMI) performance
and to establish standards for electromagnetic
compatibility (EMC) is an essential claim to
satisfy. In fact, any new electronic product that
is designed and manufactured today in Europe
needs to undergo EMI/EMC testing to ensure
that they meet the required EMC conformity
declarations. To this aim, all manufacturers
of electrical and electronic products in Eu-
rope use established standards describing the
EMC requirements, measurement procedures,
maximum emission and susceptibility limits of
electronic systems and modules.
In EMI/EMC tests, broadband antennas are
widely used for radiated emission and suscepti-
bility measurements, radiated immunity testing,
site qualification testing and human exposure
tests. As a consequence, the accurate knowledge
of the technical parameters associated with an-
tennas is a fundamental requirement especially
when calibrated antennas are required as probes
for high-precision field strength measurements
and as sources for the generation of specific elec-
tromagnetic field. Moreover, advantages in the
antenna calibration methods make possible the
reduction of uncertainty of EMC measurements,
enabling saving in the design and manufacture
of products as well as to achieve the required
EMC protection.
In EMI testing, electric field measure-
ments are necessary for determining compli-
ance with most electromagnetic interference
requirements, such as FCC Part 15, CISPR 22,
CISPR 16, EN 55022, etc. In particular, with
reference to the radiated emissions the electric
field strength is measured by using a suitable
receiving antenna connected to a receiver,
such as spectrum analyzer, providing a volt-
age proportional to the incident electric field.
A coaxial shielded cable is used for connecting
the measurement instrument to the antenna. As
result, to evaluate the electric field strength by
using receiver readings (voltage), the antenna
manufacturer has to provide the antenna fac-
tor versus frequency for both horizontal and
vertical polarizations. The antenna factor
value and the related uncertainty are the most
critical parameters to be evaluated. Moreover,
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suitable setups and measurement procedures
involving relatively high-cost instrumentation
and specific test sites have to be used for an ac-
curate evaluation of antenna factor. The antenna
factor calibration of antennas used for radiated
emission measurements of EMI from 9 kHz to
40 GHz is the subject of existing ANSI C63.5-
2006 (ANSI C63.5-2006, 2006) international
standard. In particular, it describes three main
methods: the Standard Site Method (SSM),
the Reference Antenna Method (RAM), the
Equivalent Capacitance Substitution Method
(ECSM). Additional methods are the Standard
Field Method (SFM), the Standard Antenna
Method (SAM), the Standard Transmitting Loop
Method (STLM) and the near field three-antenna
method (NF-TAM).
In the SFM and SAM the antenna is exposed
to a known field at a given point in the space.
For the SFM, this field strength can be calcu-
lated in terms of type, dimensions, net power
delivered, and gain of the transmitting antenna,
as well as the distance between the transmitting
antenna and the field point, the effects of ground
reflections or reflections from the walls of an
anechoic chamber (Nahman, Kanda, Larsen,
& Crawford, 1985; Smith Jr., 1982; IEEE Std
291-1991, 1991). The SAM requires a set of
specially designed receiving antennas having
known dimension, shape and gain. In this way,
the field strength value can be calculated in
terms of the induced voltage or current in the
receiving antenna and the antenna factor is
calculated as the ratio of the field strength to
the induced voltage (Nahman, Kanda, Larsen,
& Crawford, 1985; Smith Jr., 1982; IEEE Std
291-1991, 1991). The SSM (the most commonly
used method for antenna calibration) requires
neither the availability of a standard antenna nor
the generation of a standard field. In particular,
unlike SAM, this method does not need voltage
or field-strength measurements, and, unlike
SFM, it does not involve the knowledge of the
absolute level of the signal source. The SSM
requires a calibrated test site and three pairs of
site attenuation measurements, under identical
geometries, involving three different antennas.
In the SSM, the antenna factor was derived, at
 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012 45
a particular antenna height above the ground
plane, by considering the attenuation levels.
However, because the far-field measurement,
the accuracy and uncertainty of such antenna
calibration method depend on the quality of the
measuring test site in terms of how closely the
measuring site conforms to a standard site. As a
consequence, a near-ideal open-field site, a large
antenna separations and conducting ground
plane are recommended (Smith Jr., 1982).
Usually in low frequency band (lower than
30 MHz) it is difficult to obtain antenna factors
of electrically short monopole antenna using a
general three-antenna method like SSM. To this
aim, in order to reduce the effect of the measure-
ment site and background noises, the NF-TAM
was developed to measure the antenna factor
of such antennas (Ishigami, Iida, & Iwasaki,
1996). In this method, the averaged electric field
strength, estimated on the basis of the mutual
impedance between two monopole antenna
elements, is considered. However, the ECSM
is more commonly used to calibrate monopole
antennas from 9 kHz to 30 MHz (ANSI C63.5-
2006, 2006). It is a very simple measurement
method and it not requires the generation of an
electromagnetic field in an open region.
Generally, SSM, SFM, and SAM i) are
absolute calibration methods, ii) are not easy
to implement in antenna calibration laborato-
ries or companies, iii) require more efforts to
maintain complicated calibration systems and
establish the traceability to the standards. On
the other hand, reference calibration methods
can establish traceability to the standard of the
antenna factor. In particular, RAM is one of the
reference calibration methods used for the cali-
bration of dipole antennas, bi-conical antennas,
horn antennas, etc. (ANSI C63.5-2006, 2006).
By considering that the measurements
performed by means of the methods above
recalled strongly depend on the electromag-
netic waves reflected at the ground plane,
the antenna factor estimation varies with the
antenna height at the test site. Moreover, both
SSM and SAM use a transmitting antenna, a
signal generator and a measuring receiver to
estimate transmission loss between antenna
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pairs. In order to overcome these drawbacks, in
particular ground reflections, and to accurately
estimate the free-space antenna factor a new
antenna calibration method, named Antenna
Impedance Method (AIM), has been proposed
(Kaketa, Fujii, Sugiura, Matusmoto, Yamanaka,
2003a; Kaketa, Fujii, Sugiura, Matsumoto,
& Yamanaka, 2003b; Tsushima, Fujii, Sugi-
ura, Matsumoto, & Yamanaka, 2003; Ishii &
Komiyama, 2007; Fujii, Kaketa, Matsumoto,
& Sugiura, 2002; Fujii, Kaketa, Sugiura, Mat-
sumoto, & Yamanaka, 2004; Sevgi, Cakir, &
Cakir, 2008). This method, allows the accurate
estimation of the antenna factor from only input
impedance measurements on the antenna under
calibration above a ground plane.
In this paper, we present a brief overview of
the current status of the main antenna calibration
methods with particular focus on the antenna
impedance method. We also show experimental
measurements performed in a semi-anechoic
chamber regarding the antenna factor of three
different antennas. In particular, the antenna
factors obtained by using both the calibration
methods SFM and AIM are compared between
them as well as they are compared with data
provided by the manufactured of the antennas
under calibration.
STANDARD SITE METHOD
The standard site method allows the evaluation
of the near free-space antenna factor by using
the site attenuation measurements made on a
standard antenna calibration site, i.e. site having
a large metallic ground plane and comprising
a flat open-area without nearby scatterers such
as trees, power lines, and fences. This method,
provides near-free-space antenna factors for
many antennas, including biconical and tuned
dipoles, log-periodic dipole arrays, and linearly
polarized hybrid arrays (Askri, Vollaire, Nico-
las, & Prebet, 2002). Moreover, it is usually
preferred for routine calibrations because it
can be applied to broadband antennas in swept-
frequency techniques.
46 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012
By considering a pair of antennas sepa-
rated by a distance d and placed at the height
h1 (for the transmitting antenna) and h2 (for the
receiving antenna) above the ground plane (see
Figure 1) the measured site attenuation could
be expressed in terms of antennas factors of
receiving, AFR, and transmitting, AFT, antennas
(Garn, Buchmayr, Mullner, & Rasinger, 1997):
VT 79.58 49.2AFT AFR
A= = (1)
VR 2 fM E Rmax
where VT is the output voltage of the signal
generator driving the transmitting antenna, VR
is the output voltage measured at the end of the
receiving antenna, fM is the frequency in MHz,
E Rmax is the electric field strength, in μV/m, in
the receiving antenna calculated when the height
h2 is scanned until a maximum output voltage
VR is measured. The antenna factor is defined
as the ratio of the electric field strength E of
the plane wave and the voltage inducted at the
antenna output. Typical values of antenna
separation distance d, transmitting antenna
height h1 and receiving antenna scanning range
are provided in ANSI C63.5-2006 (2006).
Figure 1. Antenna arrangement for site attenuation measurements
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The SSM is widely used in the form of the
three antenna method in which the site attenu-
ation (Ai i=1,2,3), under identical geometries
(h1, h2, d), of the combinations of three pairs of
three antennas is measured. The method relies
on solving a system of equations with three
unknown antenna factors which are determined
using three independent measurements. In
particular, the three equations associated with
the measurements Ai (in dB) and E Rmax (in
dBµVm-1) are:
AF1 + AF2 = 20 log fM − 48.92 + E Rmax + A1
(2)
AF1 + AF3 = 20 log fM − 48.92 + E Rmax + A2
(3)
AF2 + AF3 = 20 log fM − 48.92 + E Rmax + A3
(4)
Rearranging the Equations 2, 3, and 4, it is
possible to express the antenna factor Ai in terms
of field strength and measured site attenuation:
 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012 47
E Rmax + A1 + A2 − A3
AF1 = 10 log fM − 24.46 +
2
E Rmax + A1 + A3 − A2
AF2 = 10 log fM − 24.46 +
2 • Antennas are immersed in a uniform field;
E Rmax + A1 + A3 − A2
AF3 = 10 log fM − 24.46 +
2
Moreover, if two identical antennas have
to be calibrated, their antenna factor can be
obtained from a single site-attenuation measure-
ment using the following expression (Smith
Jr., 1982):
E Rmax + A
AF = 10 log fM − 24.46 +
2
Horizontal polarization is preferred for
antenna calibration because:
• Mutual coupling between the cable and the
antenna is negligible;
• Scattering from the cable is negligible;
• Ground-screen edge reflections are smaller
for horizontal polarization;
• Horizontally polarized ground reflection is
less sensitive to differences in the ground
plane conductivity and permittivity.
The interaction between the antenna and
its environment complicates the measurement
procedure. In fact, environmental influences are
generally difficult to determine mathematically
and, consequently, difficult to correct. For this
reason, in the SSM the following approxima-
tions are included:
• The antennas under test have the same ra-
diation pattern as those from a short dipole;
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• Mutual couplings between antennas and
between antennas and ground planes are
(5) negligible;
• The antennas are in far field so that the
near field effects and the physical size are
negligible;
(6) • Antenna separation distance is measured
from the geometrical center-points of the
antennas.
(7) Despite these assumptions, the theoreti-
cal model has proved to work rather well in a
near free-space geometry, introducing errors
in the antenna factors up to 0.5 dB. However,
the SSM theoretical model was shown to be
inadequate for other site validation geometries.
In this cases, the errors can be higher than 4
dB for a pair of typical size biconical antennas
(Garn, Buchmayr, Mullner, & Rasinger, 1997).
(8) Practical experience has shown that correction
factors shall be applied for product accurate
and reliable measurements. To this aim, many
research efforts were addressed to precisely
analyze the assumptions and evaluate uncertain-
ties due to imperfect methods introduced by the
ANSI (Garn, Buchmayr, Mullner, & Rasinger,
1997; Alexander, Salter, Gentle, & Holland,
1994; Fujii, Harada, Sugiura, Matsumoto, &
Yamanaka, 2005; Sugiura, Morikawa, Koike,
& Harima, 1995). Other researches proposed
standard method modifications and novel an-
tenna factor calibration methods (Fujii, Harada,
Sugiura, Matsumoto, & Yamanaka, 2005; Sugi-
ura, Morikawa, Koike, & Harima, 1995; Mat-
sumoto, Umeda, Nishikata, Fujii, Yamanaka,
& Sugiura, 2003; Joseph & Martens, 2005;
Sugiura, 1990). However, the ANSI C63.5-2006
provide several procedures to quantify several
correction factors.
STANDARD FIELD METHOD
It is well known that radiated emissions testing
for EMC applications requires the measurement
of electric field (E-field) strength, which is com-
pared with a limit level. The output voltage of
48 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012
an antenna is converted to E-field strength via
its antenna factor, the measurement of which
have to include the major source of uncertainties
associated with the antenna calibration, taking
into account the environment where the antenna
is tested. The standard field method is certainly
the most natural calibration method, because
it can be derived directly from the defining
equation of the antenna factor mentioned in
Equation 9:
E the computation of the electric field in a fixed
AF = ⇒ AFdB = EdB µV /m −VdB µV
V
The SFM involves generation of a known
standard field intensity created at a specified
location. The tested antenna is put in the standard
field and the received voltage is measured by the
test receiver. The magnitude of the standard field
depends on the dimensions of the transmitting
antenna, its current distribution, the distance
between the transmitting and receiving antenna,
and effect of the ground plane. Standard fields
can be generated in otherwise free space as well
as in shielded or unshielded spaces.
Figure 2 shows the measurement setup
occurring in the standard field method. In
particular, an HP preamplifier feeds the trans-
mitting antenna used to propagate the EM
field in the 3D environment. Through an HP
Figure 2. AF measurement setup with standard field method
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spectrum analyzer the output voltage of the
receiving antenna is measured. The E-field
probe is placed close to the receiving antenna
to measure at the same time the amplitude of
the electric field on the receiving antenna, and
the antenna factor is evaluated by using eq. (9).
In particular, EdBµV/m is the value of the standard
field strength, measured via the field probe,
and VdBµV is the measured output voltage at
the end of the receiving antenna. The accuracy
of this antenna calibration method depends on
(9) point in the space.
ANTENNA IMPEDANCE
METHOD
In the AIM different impedance measurements
at various heights have been performed on the
antenna under calibration placed above a metal
ground plane.
Generally, an EMI antenna system consists
of radiating elements connected to circuit such
as balun and matched load, as illustrated in Fig-
ure 3(a). The equivalent circuit of the radiating
element (antenna) consists of a voltage source
with electromotive force he0E, where he0 is the
effective length of the antenna and E is field
strength of the plane wave, and internal imped-
ance equal to the input impedance of the antenna.
Moreover, Z0 is the impedance of the load of the
 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012 49

Figure 3. Equivalent circuit of EMI antenna

antenna (usually a measuring receiver with an he 0

input impedance of 50 Ω) and V is the voltage he (h ) = (11)
induced at the antenna output. If Zin is the input Za (h )C + A
impedance, the overall antenna system can be
analyzed by considering the equivalent circuit where the various connected circuits are
depicted in Figure 3(b). In particular, because expressed in terms of a transmission matrix
the antenna is placed above the metal ground (A,B,C,D). Thus, if the load Z0 is perfectly
plane at the height h, the input impedance and matched, the voltage induced at the antenna
the effective length of the antenna are height- output can be expressed by the equation:
dependent and can be formulated in terms of the
impedance (Za(h)) and effective length (he0) of
Z0
the radiating element (Kaketa, Fujii, Sugiura, V = he (h ) E (12)
Matusmoto, Yamanaka, 2003a; Kaketa, Fujii, Z in (h ) + Z 0
Sugiura, Matsumoto, & Yamanaka, 2003b;
Tsushima, Fujii, Sugi­ura, Matsumoto, & Ya-
manaka, 2003; Ishii & Komiyama, 2007; Fujii, and the antenna factor can be rewritten in the
Kaketa, Matsumoto, & Sugiura, 2002; Fujii, form:
Kaketa, Sugiura, Mat­sumoto, & Yamanaka,
2004; Sevgi, Cakir, & Cakir, 2008): 1 Z in (h ) + Z 0
AF (h ) = (13)
he (h ) Z0
Za (h )D + B
Z in (h ) = (10)
Za (h )C + A
where it can be observed that the antenna fac-
tor depend not only on the characteristics of
and: the radiating element but also on those of the
connected circuits.

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50 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012

Figure 4. Measurement setup of antenna impedances

When an antenna is placed horizontally

above a metal plane, as shown in Figure 4, the
 60π e−jk(2h )  2
antenna impedance Za(h) can be expressed as Za (h ) ≅ Za0 −  j  he = Za − K (h )he2 (16)
the sum of a free-space, Za , and ground-re-  λ 2h  0 0 0
0

flection, Z(h), components:

Za (h ) = Za − Z (h ) (14) where:
0

60π e − jk (2h )
Substituting of Equation 14 into Equations K (h ) = j (17)
10, 11, 12, and 13 reveals that the antenna fac- λ 2h
tor generally changes in magnitude with the
antenna height. Equations 16, 17 yield the following for-
If the antenna is placed at a high of about mula for the height-dependent input impedance:
a wavelength λ or more, ground reflection
components of the input impedance, Z (h ) , can Z − K (h )h 2  D + B
 a e0 
be approximated as: Z in (h ) =  0  (18)
Z − K (h )h 2  C + A
 a0 e0 

60π 2 e − jk (2h )
Z (h ) ≅ j h (15)
λ e0 2h and from Equation 18 the following equation
can be derived:
where k = 2π / λ is the wave number. As
result, Equation 14 can be rewritten as: C 1Z in (h ) + C 2K (h )Z in (h ) + C 3K (h ) = −1
(19)

where:

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 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012 51

Za C + A antenna impedance method can be organized

C1 = − 0 in the following three steps:
Za D + B
0

Che2 1. Antenna impedance measurements on an

C2 = 0
(20) antenna under calibration placed at various
Za D + B
0 heights above a metal ground plane;
Dhe2 2. Estimation of the unknown constants C1,
C3 = − 0
C2, C3 using Equation 19 and the imped-
Za D + B
0
ance data of the step 1;
3. Evaluation of the free-space antenna factor
are unknown constants. Moreover, by consid- using Equation 23.
ering the aforesaid equations, the formula for
the height-dependent antenna factor can be Regarding the step 2, it worthwhile to note
rewritten as: that the solution of the corresponding linear

AF (h ) =
DZa + B + Z 0 CZa + A ( )− D +Z C Z system is solved by means of the least square
0

Z 0he
0

Z 0he
0
(h ) method. In fact, in order to improve the method
0 0
reliability, it is suitable to perform more than of
(21) three impedance measurements. As result, the
linear system to solve has more equations than
The free-space value of the antenna fac- unknowns and the least square method allows to
tor can be calculated by equating the ground find the overall solution minimizing the errors
reflection component Z(h)=0 in Equation 22: made in the results of every single equation.

AFfree (h ) =
DZa + B + Z 0 CZa + A
0
( 0
) SIMULATION AND
Z 0he EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
0

(22) Some experiments have been carried out to

evaluate the antenna factor by means of the
or equivalently: Antenna Impedance Method. In detail, the
input impedance of antenna under calibration
was measured in the semi-anechoic chamber of
C 1Z 0 − 1
AFfree = (23) ITEL Telecomunicazioni srl EMC Test Lab. The
Z 0∆ semi-anechoic chamber is equipped with inno-
vative pyramidal-type wave absorbers. Figure
5(a)-(c) shows some details of the semi-anechoic
where:
chamber and wave absorber, respectively. The
antenna test setup has been placed in a offset
C 1 −C 2 position respect the center of the semi-anechoic
∆2 = (24)
−1 C 3 chamber. In this way, the incident electromag-
netic wave on the absorber is strongly absorbed
because it is affected by an higher number of
It can be observed that the antenna factor, reflections. For each antenna under calibra-
expressed by Equation 23, approach the free tion, the antenna factor values, carried out by
space antenna factor as the antenna height h using both standard field method and antenna
increases. As result of the proposed theory, the impedance method, have been compared with
the calibrated data provided by the antenna

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52 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012

Figure 5. Experimental measurement setup of antenna impedances in ITEL Telecomunicazioni

srl semi-anechoic chamber

Table 1. Main characteristics of the antennas under calibration

Scanning Heights
Antenna Type Model Polarization Frequency Range
Range
Biconic ARA BCH 2030/A H 20 MHz÷300 MHz 1.3 m÷4.3 m
Log-periodic EMCO 3146 V 200 MHz÷1 GHz 1 m÷4 m
Horn SAS-571 V 700 MHz÷3 GHz 1 m÷4 m

manufacturer. Instrumentation consisted on an numerical code solving Equations 14 through

HP 8753C vector network analyzer, operating
in the frequency range from 300 kHz to 6 GHz,
and an HP 85032B calibration kit. Moreover,
a mobile stand has been used to perform the
antenna measurements at different heights.
The antennas under calibration are the
Biconical antenna, the Log-periodic antenna
and the Double Ridge Guide Horn Antenna.
In particular, seven antenna heights with step
equal to 50 cm and 26 frequency points have
been taken into account during the antenna test.
Table 1 summarizes the main characteristics
regarding the considered antennas. Moreover,
in order to minimize the interference effects a
ferrite clamp has been placed on the RF cable
linking the antenna with the vector network
analyzer.
In order to calculate the antenna factor via
the AIM and by considering the experimental
measurements of the antenna impedance, a
24 was developed. In the code, the input data
are the frequency, the antenna impedance mea-
surements and the antenna heights above the
metal ground plane.
The values of the free-space antenna factor
are obtained solving the liner system (19). To
obtain a better accuracy of the antenna factor
value, the free-space antenna factor has been
evaluated for all the 3-combinations (three
different heights) from a given set of 7 ele-
ments (seven considered antenna heights). In
particular, the mean value of the 35 combina-
tions was considered as the correct antenna
factor for a fixed frequency. The curves of
these values, for a properly frequency range
of the antennas reported in Figures 6, 7, and 8,
have been obtained as the interpolating curve
of the experimental data versus the frequency
by using a polynomial fit.

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 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012 53

Figure 6. Experimental AF measurement versus the frequency of the Bioconical antenna obtained
as mean value of the 35 combinations and its interpolating curve with a polynomial fit

Figure 7. Experimental AF measurement versus the frequency of the Horn antenna obtained as
mean value of the 35 combinations and its interpolating curve with a polynomial fit

It is also interesting to consider the devia-
tions from the mean value of the antenna fac-
tor when the height of the antenna under test
increases, for a fixed frequency value. Figures
9, 10, and 11 show the deviations of the mean
antenna factor from the free-space antenna
factors obtained solving the liner system (19)
in which the three different heights of antenna
have been chosen as reported in Table 2.
Figures 12, 13, and 14, show the measured
antenna factor versus the frequency for biconical
antenna, double ridge guide horn antenna and
log-periodic antenna, respectively. In particular,
the comparison between the values obtained by
AIM and SFM with those provided by antenna
manufacturer is illustrated. It worthwhile to
note that the variation of the antenna factor,
evaluated by means of the antenna impedance
method, in comparison to the data provided by
the manufacturer is within ±2.2 dB for Log-
periodic and biconical antennas and within
±3.8 dB for Horn antenna. However, a quite

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54 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012

Figure 8. Experimental AF measurement versus the frequency of the Log periodic antenna ob-
tained as mean value of the 35 combinations and its interpolating curve with a polynomial fit

Figure 9. Deviations from mean value of the experimental AF measurements obtained increasing
the antenna height as reported in Table 2, for a fixed frequency of 87.2 MHz, 188 MHz, 288.8
MHz, for the Bioconical antenna

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 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012 55

Figure 10. Deviations from mean value of the experimental AF measurements obtained increasing
the antenna height as reported in Table 2, for a fixed frequency of 700 MHz, 1712 MHz, 3000
MHz, for the Horn antenna

Figure 11. Deviations from mean value of the experimental AF measurements obtained increasing
the antenna height as reported in Table 2, for a fixed frequency of 200 MHz, 520 MHz, 968.8
MHz, for the Log periodic antenna

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56 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012

Table 2. Antenna heights used to solve the liner system regarding the Antenna Impedance Method

Antenna Height Three Heights [m]

1 1.3 – 1.8 – 2.3
2 1.8 – 2.3 – 2.8
3 2.3 – 2.8 – 3.3
4 2.8 – 3.3 – 3.8
5 3.3 – 3.8 – 4.3

Figure 12. Experimental AF data versus the frequency obtained with AIM compared with those
founded via SFM and provided by the antenna manufacturer for Bioconical antenna in the range
of 20-300 MHz

significant variation (i.e., max. 4.4 dB for and nulls between the transmitting antenna and
the Horn and Log-periodic antenna) has been the antenna being calibrated. Fixed receiving
obtained when the data obtained via the SFM antenna heights, may be used for size/geometry
are compared with those provided by the manu- and frequency where nulls are absent.
facturer. These variations could be probably
linked to the interference phenomena. In fact,
the 3-meter distance between the transmitting CONCLUSION
and receiving antennas might cause antenna-
In recent years, international standards has
to-antenna mutual coupling and consequent
emphasized the accurate measurement of the
errors in measurement. Moreover the separation
antenna factor trough calibration test sites char-
distance for each fixed height of the antenna-
acterized by very large sizes of both the ground
under-test and the transmitting antenna must
plane and the empty space volume above it. By
be great enough to insure that near-field effects
taking into account this advices, the CISPR
are negligible. This might cause a variation in
committees decided on the use of the free-space
field strength because of the numbers of peaks
antenna factor as antenna parameter to use for

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 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012 57

Figure 13. Experimental AF data versus the frequency obtained with AIM compared with those
founded via SFM and provided by the antenna manufacturer for Horn antenna in the range of
700-3000 MHz

Figure 14. Experimental AF data versus frequency obtained with AIM compared with those
founded via SFM and provided by the antenna manufacturer for Log periodic antenna in the
range of 200-1000 MHz

EMI/EMC tests. In response to this, theoreti-
cal and experimental investigations as well as
simple and accurate calibration methods have
been developed to obtain the free-space antenna
factor. In this paper, we briefly illustrate the well
know antenna-based and site-based methods. In
particular, a numerical method called Antenna
Impedance Method has been discussed as a new
calibration method for estimating the free-space
antenna factor in the frequency range from 20

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58 International Journal of Measurement Technologies and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(4), 43-59, October-December 2012
MHz to 3000 MHz. This calibration method
requires only antenna-impedance measure-
ments on an antenna under calibration above a
metal ground plane at various antenna heights.
In the paper, we briefly reviewed and discussed
the theoretical basis of the method and the
experimental results obtained by this method.
Three different kinds of antenna, biconical, log-
periodic and horn antenna, have been calibrated
by using this method. The experimental data has
been compared with those obtained by means
the standard field method and with the data pro-
vided by the antenna manufacturer. The obtained
antenna factor values show a variations within
2.2÷4.4 dB range. These results indicate that
the Antenna Impedance Method is applicable
for the measurements of antenna factor. The ac-
curacy of the proposed estimation method was
investigated by taking into account the possible
errors associated with the conventional antenna
calibration method. The obtained results high-
light that the antenna impedance method could
provide an estimation of the free-space antenna
factor in good agreement with the international
standard ANSI C63.5-2006.
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