Development of Anechoic Chamber for RF Devices Characterization at Telecommunication Engineering Laboratory

Abstract

The measurement room and far field calculation of the antenna to be measured are some of the factors that cause the antenna test results to be inaccurate. The room conditions that allow the test results to be unsuitable can be caused by external interference or reflections from electromagnetic waves. RF anechoic chamber of sufficient size can solve this problem, so that it reflects the true characteristics of the antenna being measured. However, the very high price for the procurement of the RF anechoic chamber facilities is the reason why not all educational laboratories have them. The Radio and Microwave Telecommunication Laboratory (LTRGM) designed and implemented an RF anechoic chamber with dimensions of 6.1 meters long, 4.88 meters wide and 4.27 meters high, using CRAM SFC and C-RAM Cornerblok absorbers. From the design specifications and implementation of the materials used, an RF anechoic chamber is built with a frequency range that can be measured between 1GHz - 40GHz, which can be used for satellite applications (27.5GHz, 31 GHz), cellular terrestrial networks (28GHz, 38GHz), network routing (23GHz , 3GHz), short-range radar (24 - 24.5GHz), and the maximum dimensions of the RF device tested are 50cm2.