Proximal-Field Radiation Sensors

Proximal-Field Radiation Sensors (PFRS) are introduced as a new set of tools to enable extraction of far-field radiation properties of integrated antennas from the surface waves inside their dielectric substrates. These sensors allow self-characterization, self-calibration, and self-monitoring of the radiation performance for both printed circuit board (PCB) antennas and integrated circuit (IC) antennas without any need to additional test equipment. In this paper, we explain how these sensors can be implemented and demonstrate how the far-field radiation properties can be determined from them. A PCB prototype consisting of two transmitting patch antennas and four integrated PFRS antennas is fabricated and tested to verify the concept and demonstrate the implemented sensors' capabilities to capture the radiation properties such as gain pattern, radiated polarization, and the steering angle of the antenna array as a few examples of radiation sensors applications.