Generating a plane wave with a linear array of line sources

Abstract

Creating a plane wave across an antenna under test is important for accurate antenna measurements. This paper optimizes the location and weightings of an array of line sources in order to approximate a plane wave at a given location in space. The amplitude and phase ripples across a desired test aperture are optimized to be much less than that of a uniform array with the same number of elements. Results are presented for a nine-element array with optimized amplitude and phase weights, with optimized weights and spacing in the x-direction, and with optimized weights and spacing in the x and z directions. The optimized approximate plane wave is a significant improvement over a uniform array or a single line source.