Automated Time-Domain Gating Optimization of Multilayer Radome in Stationary Free-Space Measurement Method for SATCOM Applications

초록

This paper presents a stationary free-space measurement framework for the electromagnetic characterization of multilayer radomes, in which the time-domain gating (TDG) span is determined through an automated optimization process rather than user-dependent manual adjustment. The proposed method combines free-space and perfect-reflector reference measurements, reference plane calibration, and Bayesian optimization-based TDG parameter selection to reconstruct the intrinsic reflection and transmission responses of multilayer radomes under stationary measurement conditions. In this framework, “stationary” refers to a fixed-geometry free-space setup in which the transmitting antenna, receiving antenna, and specimen center remain unchanged during all reference and radome measurements. The framework was validated in the 10–15 GHz band through simulation and measurement using a 15-layer dual-core satellite communications (SATCOM) radome. For the primary validation specimen, the maximum magnitude error with respect to the simulated response was approximately 0.40 dB for the reflection coefficient and 0.20 dB for the transmission coefficient. In addition, the root-mean-square magnitude errors were reduced by approximately 97.45% and 99.62% after the proposed calibration and post-processing procedure. Supplementary measurements using a 1.5-mm-thick FR-4 specimen and a 13-layer single-core radome further supported the applicability of the workflow beyond the primary validation case. These results indicate that the proposed framework provides quantitatively reasonable intrinsic-response reconstruction for structurally complex multilayer radomes in stationary free-space measurements. © 2013 IEEE.

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