Zoya’s Anechoic Chamber (Z.A.Ch)Team Chamber of Secrets

Billy Carpenter, Maggie Hartman, Colton O’Connor, Ana Sprajcer, Kevin Sullivan

Background:Antenna testing requires both the proper testing environment and

testing system. An anechoic chamber isolates antennas from the

outside environment and also prevents reflection of electromagnetic

waves. Professor Zoya Popovic has built an anechoic chamber which is

a stable environment for antenna testing; however, the testing system

within this chamber has fallen into disrepair. Without the proper

testing system, researchers cannot measure received power, a crucial

parameter for the calculation of antenna characteristics such as

radiation pattern and overall gain.

Objectives:

One way to measure the received power of an antenna is to construct a testing system with one antenna as a source antenna and another antenna as the test antenna which combines both hardware and software to control the measurement system .

Hardware:● Rotary tables were used to rotate both the source antenna and the

antenna under test (AUT). The third rotary table is used to rotate the arm mount for the AUT.

● Motors/Motor Drivers were used to control the rotation of the rotary tables.

● Signal Generator used to create the signal to send through the source antenna.

● Power Meter used to measure the power received by the AUT.● AUT/Source Antennas are provided by the researchers.

Software:● Communicating with the MCU to accurately control motor

positioning, and receive feedback from the system.● MATLAB user interface for researchers to define their desired test

parameters.● Plotting of data received by the AUT to show researchers their

measured antenna radiation patterns.

Mounts:● Mounting mechanism to securely connect source antenna and

AUT to the system.● Arm mounting mechanism connected to rotary tables and AUT for

accurate positioning

Hardware Design:

Software Design:

Antenna Under Test Results:

Example graph of antenna measurement showing gain of the antenna in dB as a function of both azimuth and elevation

[1] Source: Väisänen, Ville, et al. “An Approach to Enhanced Fidelity of Airborne Radar Site-Specific Simulation.” Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring, GIS Applications, and Geology VIII, 2008,

doi:10.1117/12.800216.

User interface on MatLab Chamber software flow chart

Acknowledgements:A special thanks to our sponsors Zoya Popovic and Gregor Lasser

as well as instructor team Andrew Femrite, Leland Moore, and Prerit Oberai

PCB Design

Rotary Table Motor Motor Driver

System Diagram

Sponsored by Zoya Popovic and Gregor Lasser

Example Radiation Pattern of a Dipole Antenna at 76 GHz [2] Source:https://www.mathworks.com/help/antenna/6.