Accurate Evaluation of Antenna Measurement Range Performance with the SWE Transmission Formula

The spherical wave expansion-based transmission formula allows to accurately evaluate the coupling (or S21 parameter) between a transmitting and a receiving antenna. Its use as tool for probe corrected spherical near-field to far-field transformation is well accepted and documented. On the other hand, its direct use in the evaluation of antenna measurement performance has been exploited only in recent years. In this paper we will show how measurement performances predicted with the transmission formula compare with actual measurements. Taking as examples relatively complex antenna measurement systems like spherical near-field, plane wave generators and CATR, we will focus on the prediction of the accuracy of the measured radiation patterns, also including the approximation of reflections from the test environments, and on the evaluation of link budgets.