MUNICH – Rohde & Schwarz and IHP have performed the first full 2-D/3-D antenna characterization of transceiver modules operating in the D-Band.

The firms have transferred an over-the-air test method in a shielded environment into sub-THz range, demonstrating full 2-D/3-D over-the-air measurements of a radar module at D-Band frequencies.

The test setup consists of the R&S ATS1000 antenna test system, the R&S ZNA43 vector network analyzer and the R&S AMS32 antenna measurement software from Rohde & Schwarz.

To cover the D-Band frequencies, extensions from Radiometer Physics, a Rohde & Schwarz company, are used in the setup, which allow direct frequency conversion at the probe in both transmit and receive directions. No mechanical modifications or additional RF cabling to the antenna test system is necessary. The setup can measure the amplitude and phase coherent response of a DUT radiating in the D-Band.

Automated 3-D-pattern measurements including post-processing can be performed in a short time thanks to R&S AMS32 software options for nearfield to farfield transformation and the precision positioner.

IHP provided four different devices under test, based on the same D-Band radar transceiver chipset but with different antenna structures, including on-chip single and stacked patches with air trenches and an on-chip antenna array.

The over-the-air characterization verified the wider bandwidth provided by the stacked patches than that by the single patch. The performance of the various DUTs was characterized by spherical measurements, using two different setups. By increasing the angular theta step-size from 1° to 5°, the total test times for a DUT were reduced from 70 minutes to 12 minutes.

By comparing the different DUT designs based on the obtained measurement data, researchers of IHP were able to analyze the effect of the finite on-board reflector area on the radar sensor field-of-view.

“Sub-THz frequency systems are getting more and more attention in research and many fields of application,” said Prof. Gerhard Kahmen, managing director of IHP. “The Rohde & Schwarz OTA test system, extended to D-Band, provides an excellent way to characterize radiation patterns of the complex antenna structures, realized in our D-Band radar chips in a time-efficient and precise way. For IHP, these measurements are valuable to understand the physics of the antenna structures and to further improve their performance. The very successful cooperation with an industrial partner leading in the field of wireless and mmWave communication shows the benefit of close interaction between research and application.”

“We are excited to work with such an excellent partner as Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics on advancing our industry-leading test solutions for over-the-air testing,” said Alexander Pabst, VP of Systems and Projects at Rohde & Schwarz. “These joint efforts will help researchers and key industry players test and characterize antenna systems and transceiver modules for future automotive radar applications and wireless communication standard that we eventually call 6G.”

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