Accurate spherical Near-Field antenna measurements are typically performed compensating for the probe pattern during the Near-Field to Far-Field transformation.
Depending on the complexity of the probe modal content and on the required accuracy, different Probe Correction (PC) techniques can be applied. It is common practice to distinguish between first order PC, where only |μ|=1 spherical modes of the probe are compensated for, and full PC, taking into account the entire probe spectrum. Another key factor to be considered when applying the PC is the probe characterization. In order to obtain very accurate results, it is common practice to calibrate the probe in dedicated measurement campaigns which, unfortunately, can often be time consuming and expensive. Alternatively, the simulated probe performance can be used to perform the PC. A comparative investigation between full and first order PC performed using calibrated or simulated probe is presented in this paper.
