Testing Services

 

NSI Test Chambers and Control Room

CHAMBERS DESCRIPTION

Located in Torrance, CA, NSI has constructed two test chambers that greatly enhance its in-house testing capabilities. Chamber 1 is a multi-purpose chamber that provides Planar Near-field (PNF) measurements and can easily be upgraded for Cylindrical Near-field (CNF) and/or Spherical Near-field (SNF) measurements. The Chamber is lined with 36" absorber and has been used successfully at UHF frequencies. Chamber 2 is a SNF chamber that has been characterized down to 400 MHz and can measure antennas up to 5 feet in diameter at that frequency. Together, these chambers provide a full range of antenna measurement services for varying antenna dimensions and weights from 400 MHz to 50 GHz.

The chambers share a dedicated air conditioned control room with state-of-the-art high performance RF instrumentation for test, analysis and processing of antennas using NSI2000 Professional software. They feature NSI RF systems with high speed Panther receivers and synthesizers, and support pulse measurement and multi-port antenna PIN switching for measurement speeds up to 2 million points per second.  A full complement of gain standards is available.  In addition, the control room provides closed circuit TV monitoring, high end processing workstations with large oversized flat screen monitors, wired and wireless internet service, and ample work areas.

The chambers are staffed by the same team of NSI expert engineers that are leaders in the design and development of complex antenna measurement systems.

SPECIFIC CHAMBER CAPABILITIES

Multi-Purpose PNF, CNF, and SNF Chamber

Chamber 1 measures 25' (7.6 m) wide, 30' (9.1 m) long, and 21' (6.4 m) high. The chamber is lined with 36” (0.9 m) pyramidal absorber. The scanner in this chamber is a high precision NSI-300V-12x12, 12’ (3.7 m) by 12’ (3.7 m) planar scanner capable of testing antennas up to 10’ (3 m) x 10’ (3 m) from 1 GHz to 50 GHz and beyond.  The floor of this chamber has been reinforced with an 18 inch isolated “T” slab to support the scanner and AUT translation stage for high stability and accurate measurements. For CNF and SNF measurements the chamber can be easily upgraded for antennas up to 12' (3.7 m) in diameter if required.

The RF system for Chamber 1 features the NSI-RF-90001D RF high performance state-of-the-art antenna measurement system. This system is based on the NSI 9000 High-Performance Panther Receiver with integrated High-speed Beam Controller, dual Panther 7020 20 GHz sources (RF & LO), and the NSI Distributed Frequency Converter with remote mixers. The Panther 9000 receiver supports pulse measurement and multi-port antenna PIN switching for measurement speeds up to 2 million points per second. The Panther 7020 sources have a settling time of 100 microseconds. This RF system provides frequency coverage from 1 to 50 GHz, and with additional millimeter wave modules can provide measurements up to 110 GHz.

NSI-300V-12x12 PNF Scanner

Spherical Near-field Chamber

This Chamber is 20' (6.1 m) wide, 20' (6.1 m) long and 21' (6.4 m) high and lined with 36" (0.9 m) pyramidal absorber. The chamber accommodates a modified NSI-700S-75 SNF scanner, with a 40” (1.0 m) Z-linear translation stage, and is capable of supporting antenna loads up to 1,000 lbs (450 kg) and 5' (1.5 m) in diameter at 400 MHz.

The SNF chamber features the NSI-RF-90001D RF state-of-the-art antenna measurement system with the high-performance Panther 9000 receiver and dual Panther 7020 20 GHz sources. This system is identical to the multi-purpose chamber RF system with the addition of low frequency mixers that allow measurements below 1 GHz.

NSI-700S-75 SNF Scanner

CHAMBER DETAILS   Chamber 1 Chamber 2 Measurement Capability PNF, CNF, and SNF SNF Chamber Size 25’ (7.6 m) wide, 30’ (9.1 m) long, 21’ (6.4 m) high 20’ (6.1 m) wide, 20’ (6.1 m) long, 21’ (6.4 m) high Scanner Type NSI-300V-12x12 Vertical PNF scanner NSI-700S-75 SNF scanner with 40” (1.0 m) manual Z-translation stage RF Subsystem NSI-RF-90001D NSI-RF-90001D Absorber 36" (0.9 m) 36" (0.9 m) throughout the chamber Frequency Range 1 to 50 GHz, millimeter wave measurements to 110 GHz are optional 400 MHz to 50 GHz Maximum AUT Size 12’ (3.7 m) Diameter for CNF and SNF. 10’ (3 m) x 10’ (3 m) for PNF 5' (1.5 m) Diameter Load Capacity 10,000 lbs (4500 kg) 1,000 lbs (450 kg) Access Door Opening 94" wide x 107" high 94" wide x 107" high

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For specific details on your antenna test requirements, chamber availability, or to learn more about NSI test services, please contact the NSI Sales Department at 310 525-7000.