Research on Characteristics of Field Uniformity in Reverberation Chamber Using Two TX Antennas

Abstract

This paper presents a method to improve field uniformity using two TX antennas in a reverberation chamber with less steps of a stirrer. A mode-stirred reverberation chamber (MSRC) is considered as an alternative to the semi-anechoic chamber for an electromagnetic compatibility test because it provides a large test volume, a statistically uniform field, and a high maximum electric field. To improve field uniformity, we introduce two transmitting antennas for excitation in an MSRC, and predict statistical distribution of the complex reflection coefficients (scattering parameters). To prove the validation of our theory and the reliability of measurement results, three kinds of stirrers with different shape and sizes were fabricated and their efficiencies were measured in an MSRC, and then field uniformities have been investigated for 1-3 GHz frequency within the maximum number of independent samples that stirrers can provide. The measurement results show that the average received power is about 1.5 times as high as when using one transmitting antenna, and field uniformity is improved. Use of two transmitting antennas in an MSRC is regarded as a useful method to improve field uniformity at less stirrer steps, for radiated immunity tests.