Experimental

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The majority of experimental analysis prefomred by the REFTAS lab is done at the Richmond Hill Research Complex (RHRC), where the lab features a Smart 80 reverberation chamber as well as a fully absorber lined anechoic chamber.

 

Reverberation Chamber

The reverberation chamber is an ETS-Lindgren SMART-80 providing a reliable test and research platform from 80 MHz to 18GHz. The reverberation chamber approach is especially useful for measuring the susceptibility level of equipment under test by exposing the equipment in the unique field environment of the chamber. The total radiated power of devices can also be measured during an emission test, without the need to rotate the object, scan antenna, change polarity or lay cables in any particular orientation. The reverberation chamber is also useful to evaluate the relative performance of different designs of the same device.

 

The SMART 80 is primarily designed for testing in accordance with standards: DO160G, MIL-STD-461E, and IEC 61000-4-21 from 80 MHz to above 18 GHz. Although primarily intended to create an electromagnetic environment (EME) for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) assessment of immunity and emissions the reverberation chamber is also useful in the assessment of communication system performance in a wide range of channel characteristics.

 

The internal dimensions of the SMART 80 reverberation chamber are: 44’ x 20’ x 16’. These dimensions are particularly useful for the large working volumes needed to assess EMC and communication performance of large devices. With a wide selection of signal generators, network analyzers, and spectrum analyzers, we are able to validate designs for antennas and other RF devices to precise standards.

 

Anechoic Chamber

The Anechoic chamber is a 8.5m fully anechoic chamber (FALC) with a 2 m turntable adjacent to the reverberation chamber with test frequency capabilities from 30 MHz to 18 GHz. The FALC is useful in determining the directional emissions spectrum from the UAS and all of its sensors. Example applications include shielding effectiveness of devices, antenna pattern and radar cross section (RCS) measurements.