Development of a MATLAB Tool for Antenna Diagnostics Using Amplitude-only Field Measurement and Source Reconstruction Method

Asha Karmur; Rizwan H. Alad; Purvang Dalal; Hetvi Makwana

doi:10.65819/tes.2026.v5i1.63

Authors

Asha Karmur Department of Electronics & Communication, Faculty of Technology, Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, India
Rizwan H. Alad Department of Electronics & Communication, Faculty of Technology, Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, India
Purvang Dalal Department of Electronics & Communication, Faculty of Technology, Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, India
Hetvi Makwana Department of Electronics & Communication, Faculty of Technology, Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65819/tes.2026.v5i1.63

Keywords:

Field measurement, Source reconstruction method, Phaseless inverse problem, Antenna array, MATLAB-based GUI

Abstract

A graphical user interface (GUI) tool for non-invasive antenna diagnostics using amplitude-only field measurements and the Source Reconstruction Method (SRM) was developed in MATLAB. The tool allows users to import or to simulate measurement data and select the measurement surface (planar, cylindrical, spherical, or poly-planar). Various algorithmic options are provided, including phase-retrieval approaches such as the Gerchberg–Saxton method, Hybrid Input–Output (HIO), and sparse regularization, as well as forward solvers based on the Fast Multipole Method (FMM) and the Method of Moments (MoM). The reconstructed equivalent current distribution is used to compute the corresponding far-field radiation characteristics, including 2D radiation patterns and beam direction, which are visualized through built-in reporting tools. Even without phase information, the SRM implementation can recover element excitations and surface currents with high accuracy by combining regularization techniques with iterative inversion to mitigate the ill-posed nature of the problem. Simulation results on the reconstruction of electromagnetic fields on canonical antenna structures have revealed that the proposed method is able to reconstruct the electromagnetic fields with a reconstruction error of less than 10%, on average, when the SNR is 20 dB. The proposed MATLAB tool is a cost-effective platform for testing and fault diagnosis of the antenna. It is applicable to the field of satellite communication systems, phased array antennas, and radar.

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