ANECHOIC CHAMBER
Military Institute of Armament Technology has been involved for many years into microwave technology
and electromagnetic compatibility. It was more than 20 years ago in the Institute where the first
microwave anechoic chamber was designed in the country to test electronic equipment and
components, microwave absorbers and camouflage nets and to develop antennas, electronic
instruments, microwave radomes and absorbers, etc.
After the upgrading of anechoic chamber launched in 2008 and funded both by Institute’s own
resources and the donation of Ministry of Science and Higher Education testing and measurement
capacities of the laboratory have increased as a lot of modern instruments was used.
The chamber was completed in 2009 and meeting of below listed standards was certified by tests of
Rainford EMC Systems and Accredited Testing Laboratory (No 32) Austrian Research Centres:
a)
EN50147-1, MIL-STD-285, NSA 65-5 for efficiency of screening:
- min. 100 dB for electric fields on 30 MHz - 18 GHz band;
- min. 80 dB for electric fields on 18 GHz - 40 GHz band;
- min. 80 dB for magnetic fields at 0,01 MHz;
- min. 100 dB for magnetic fields at: 0,1 MHz, 1 MHz, 10 MHz;
b)
EN50147-2, ANSI C63.4 and CISPR-16-1-4:2008-01 for standardised attenuation in the
measurement zone:
- measurement zone with diameter 1,5 m and height 2 m at distance 3 m;
- NSA within the measurement zone better than ±3 dB on 30 MHz - 200MHz band and ±1,5 dB
on 200MHz - 1 GHz band;
- sVSWR w strefie pomiarowej: ≤ 4,2 dB w przedziale częstotliwości
od 1 GHz do 6 GHz i ≤ 3 dB w przedziale częstotliwości od 6GHz do 18 GHz;
- Transmission Loss ≤ ±3 dB dla częstotliwości od 18GHz do 40GHz;
c)
EN 61000-4-3 within the measurement zone at the distance to 3 m,
for 75% of 16 measurement points, and homogeneity:
- ≤ 5,5 dB on 26 MHz - 80 MHz band;
- ≤ 6 dB on 80 MHz - 1 GHz band;
- ≤ 4 dB on 1 GHz - 4,2 GHz band;
- ≤ 4,5 dB on 4,2 GHz - 18 GHz band.
The laboratory has such certificates as No AB171 from the Polish Centre of Accreditation, No
5/MON/2008 from the Minister of National Defence and No PE-op-pe-4697/97 from the Minister of
Environment Protection. Under the upgrading project partly donated by the Ministry of Higher Education
following examples of instrumentation increased measurement capacities of the laboratory in 2009:
- software governing measurements of resistance and emissivity;
- antenna measurement system: turning table with the controller’s angular accuracy 0,020 and
software;
- power meter for measurements of pulse electromagnetic fields starting from 50 ns on 50MHz 40GHz band;
- electric and magnetic field analyser operating on 5Hz - 100kHz band;
- EMC measurement receiver with spectrum analyser on 20Hz - 40 GHz band;
- vector signal generator operating on 100 kHz - 6GHz band with software generating such
standards as: GPS (Global Positioning System), GSM (European mobile phone system),
EDGE (data transmission in mobile phone systems), NADC (USA mobile phone system), PDC
(Japanese mobile phone system), PHS (mobile phone system existing in some Asian
countries), DECT (home wireless phones), TETRA (radio communication system for public
security services). Generator can be used to calibrate positioning systems and connected to
an amplifier provides testing of mutual interaction between instruments operating at above
standards and their resistance against interference;
- other accessories: artificial mains, programmable optical multiplier, cables, antennas,
positioning systems etc.
In the future the laboratory will be fitted with:
- system for testing equipment’s resistance against electromagnetic radiation on 10 kHz - 40GHz
band. System will provide the homogeneous field at the distance 1 m from antenna with intensity
(without modulation):
minimum: 20 V/m @ 10 kHz ÷ 2 MHz;
minimum: 50 V/m @ 2 MHz ÷ 26 MHz;
minimum: 60 V/m @ 26 MHz ÷ 18 GHz;
minimum: 200V/m @ 18 GHz ÷ 40 GHz;
And at the distance 3 m with modulation AM 80% minimum 18 V/m;
- vector analyser PNAX on 10MHz - 110GHz band (with a possibility for increasing to 500GHz)
to measure components of the scattering matrix [S]:
- measurements of reflection (S11 , S22): attenuation of reflection, attenuation inserted,
VSR, coefficient of reflection, impedance;
- measurements of transmission (S21 , S12): attenuation inserted, coefficient of
transmission, amplification/attenuation, group delay, deflection from the phase line,
electric delay.
Possessing a modern testing-measurement system with experienced personnel and access to
testing ranges the Laboratory offers following services:
1. Co-operation with university and industry centres to:
Use testing-measurement equipment of the laboratory for planned research-development
projects;
Use testing-measurement equipment of the laboratory for didactics processes;
2. Arrangement and execution of tests for equipment and electronic systems including
accreditation tests.
3. Technical support and measurements.
4. Technical and design work in domain of microwave technology and radar and electronic
warfare systems.