Millimeter-Wave Validation Standard Antenna: 2019–2022 ESA-EURAAP Comparison Campaign Results and Reference Patterns

The 2019–2022 European Space Agency (ESA)–European Association on Antennas and Propagation (EurAAP) Facility Comparison Campaign with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU)–ESA Millimeter-Wave Validation Standard Antenna (mm-VAST) antenna has involved 10 European institutions and 11 spherical near-field and compact range measurement facilities. The mm-VAST antenna, specifically designed as a reference antenna, is employed in three operational configurations at 19.76, 37.8, and 48.16 GHz, including both linear and circular polarization. This article presents the final results and lessons learned from the campaign, with a focus on the development of a set of reference measurements for the mm-VAST. To this end, the presented results comprise a comparison of the submitted radiation patterns, in terms of several metrics of difference, and a study to identify those measurements considered outliers and those that are representative. From these measurements, a set of aggregated patterns are created as a weighted average of the submitted measurements. These aggregated patterns are considered the new reference patterns of the mm-VAST in each of the studied configurations.