Towards Testing of 5G Millimeter Wave Devices Using Plane Wave Generators

The development and validation of a Plane Wave Generator (PWG) suitable for 5G testing at frequencies below 6 GHz have been reported in recent publications. There is an obvious interest to further develop the successful PWG technology for testing at higher frequencies employed by 5G and other communication systems. In this paper, we report on the technology development of a dual polarized PWG at millimeter wave frequencies. A representative technology demonstrator has been manufactured and tested. The demonstrator consists of twelve identical dual polarized elements distributed on two concentric rings using a corporate feed network to ensure the correct amplitude and phase distribution. The spatial allocation of the elements is determined from the geometry of the PWG system with the full-size test zone. The demonstrator has been manufactured and validated successfully. The validated technology is currently being implemented in the full-size PWG system.