Antenna Diagnostics using IR Thermography Planar Phaseless Near-Field Measurements (2025)

S. Fauré, R. Carrizales-Juarez, N. Mézières, A. Laffont

Abstract

This paper presents the potential of infrared (IR) thermography as a complementary method for antenna diagnostics and characterization. Traditional antenna measurement techniques are based on probe-based near-field scanning, which requires phase information for accurate far-field reconstruction. IR thermography offers a nonintrusive, broadband alternative, capable of capturing near-field intensity data. However, the phase of the near-field radiation is lost. The study investigates a Plane-to-Plane (PtP) phase retrieval approach. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of phase reconstruction and far-field transformation on a C-band horn antenna, outlining current limitations and future research directions.

Conference: 2025 International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications (ICEAA)