Removal of finite ground plane effect from antenna measurements via the inverse source technique

Abstract

We present a numerical technique to compute the field due to antennas above an infinite ground plane starting from measurements with finite ground planes. The technique works under the assumption of weak coupling between the antenna and the finite plane discontinuities but is otherwise general since it is based on rigorous field symmetry relations. Application of the technique requires a two-step process starting with the computation of surface equivalent sources which reproduce the actual antenna fields (with finite ground plane) in all points of space outside their support. These equivalent sources are then employed to compute the fields with infinite ground plane. Numerical results confirm the effectiveness of the technique.