Probe Characterization in Terahertz Near-Field Beam Measurement Systems

The characterization of radiation patterns in the terahertz frequency range is usually performed with near-field beam measurement systems. In order to measure accurate patterns, the effects of the measurement probe must be compensated, especially at terahertz frequencies, because aperture sizes are very small and prone to fabrication errors. This paper presents detailed steps on how to characterize probe antennas at terahertz frequencies and confirms the possibility to extend probe compensation methods to this frequency range. This method has been applied to characterize the radiation patterns of probes for the 900 and 1400 GHz bands.