Compact range research at ESL

ESL's pursuance and excellence in antenna and RCS measurements is discussed.

Since its very inception more than 60 years ago, the ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL) has been involved in the development of experimental facilities. At first it was a necessity because the Lab was funded by Wright Patterson Air Force Base to experimentally evaluate antennas on aircraft. After World War II, there was a similar push to experimentally develop RCS ranges. In fact, ESL developed a Ka-band RCS range in the early 1950's. That was a major challenge as one would expect; nevertheless, it was a very successful program. It is also interesting to note that ESL even developed compact range designs during that same time period. The Lab approach at that time was different than most in that it was based on a transparent dielectric lens concept. The lens was made of foam and the spherical source illumination was converted to a plane wave as it transmitted through the foam lens. They found that this concept worked very well for a small lens but had major problems when larger ones were attempted. As a result, that research was halted until the more recent work as discussed below.