Design and performance evaluation of fast electromagnetic field probes

Modern signals in, for instance, advanced wireless communication systems or radars, make use of very complex modulation. This type of fast modulation is also present in signals often measured in reverberation chambers with fast mode stirring. Reliable and meaningful measurements of such signals place an important challenge that needs to be tackled. Conventional probes struggle to give reliable measurement data in these situations, while the more expensive solutions based on optical-electric conversion and heterodyne receiver, are so costly that often only one component of the field is measured. In this paper, the impact of conventional field strength probes when measuring (complex) modulated signals is discussed. Furthermore, this paper describes the design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of fast, broadband, 3-axis and highdynamic range probes. They have been designed for mapping the fast-changing electric field strength in complex electromagnetic environments such as reverberation chambers under modestirring operation.