Application of the Fourier transform in antenna pattern measurements

The Fourier transform of an antenna radiation pattern is the aperture space distribution across the antenna. The transform from a single pattern results in a collapsed distribution and therefore, is most useful for antennas that are physically long and arrayed in one dimension (typical characteristics of cellular and personal communications service (PCS) antennas). Investigation of the transformed distribution is helpful in identifying and locating aperture (amplitude and phase) errors. In addition, the aperture distribution may be used in the synthesis of an error correction for finite-range-length patterns. A description and limitations of the processes using both synthesized and measured data are presented.