Cost-Effective Dual Circularly Polarized Antennas for Phase Calibration

The relative phase of the measured electric field components needs to be known accurately when measuring certain antenna parameters, for example, radiation patterns of circularly polarized antennas. Typical methods for phase calibration are expensive and do not necessarily suit very well for cases where the measurement setup is changed occasionally for only a small number of measurements. This work presents a cost-effective dual circularly polarized PCB antenna that can be easily designed for different operation frequencies. The design method and measured antenna properties are presented along with the method to determine and apply phase correction to improve phase accuracy of antenna measurements.