In this thesis, we designed and built a new 3D test bench, particularly for low-directivity integrated antennas at millimeter-wave frequencies. We proposed three feeding techniques for the antenna under test (AUT): a probe-fed technique, a flexible-transmission-line-fed technique and a radar-cross-section (RCS) method. The probe-fed method was developed with a customized probe, which involves an elongated (50 mm) coaxial line between the probe tip and the probe body, wherein the probe body is reversed (relative to the conventional measurement configuration) so it lies below the plane of the AUT. This method reduces the range of angles that are masked from 80° (for a conventional probe setup) to 20°. The second method was developed using a flexible transmission line with a modified flip-chip connection to the AUT. This method completely eliminates the masked zone. The third method characterizes the radiation pattern using a radar cross-section (RCS) method. This method requires neither a probe system nor connectors. However the simulation results demonstrate that there is insufficient variation in the ratio of received power to incident power as the load on the AUT is varied in order to make precise measurement with conventional measurement equipment.
