Effects of User Proximity on Total Radiated Power and Total Isotropic Sensitivity Measurements in Reverberation Chambers

The reverberation chamber (RC) has been proven to be a powerful technique to evaluate the over-the-air (OTA) performances of massive and diverse wireless devices. For wireless devices operating in proximity to users, the actual OTA performance differs from that measured in the free space. This indicates that in practice, wireless devices do not operate as designed originally. Therefore, to gain a better understanding of the actual OTA performance and to optimize the design of wireless devices, it is necessary to re-evaluate the OTA performances considering the effects of user proximity. In this study, a method that utilizes tissue-mimicking phantoms developed using human recipes for studying user proximity effects on total radiated power (TRP) and total isotropic sensitivity (TIS) measurements is proposed. Based on extensive measurements in RC, the effects of user proximity on TRP, TIS, and corresponding uncertainties were studied in a comprehensive way. The findings of this study not only augment the theory of RC-based OTA testing but also provide guidance for evaluating OTA performances and optimizing wireless devices.