Application of Software Defined Radio Technology for Low-Cost Characterization of Frequency-Selective Surfaces

Frequency-Selective Surfaces (FSSs) are a promising tool for dealing with electromagnetic compatibility challenges in smart cities. While FSS prototypes demand a small investment, their characterization usually involves expensive radio frequency generators and analyzers. Here, we propose an FSS characterization setup based on Soft Defined Radio (SDR) technology as a low-cost alternative. To experimentally validate the proposed configuration, we employed it to characterize an example FSS in the 2.4 GHz band, comparing the results with those obtained using a signal generator and a spectrum analyzer. The setups provided a comparable performance, with maximum and mean squared transmission differences below 2 dB and 0.5 dB, respectively. Although slower and less sensitive, the SDR setup is portable and almost 50 times cheaper.