On the wide-band CW illumination of large scale systems. I. The Ellipticus illuminator

The Phillips Laboratory has recently designed and constructed a continuous-wave illuminator for studying the responses of large-scale systems subject to electromagnetic stresses. The illumination is developed by an electrically large, ferrite-loaded elliptical loop configuration that is oriented over the system being studied. One half of the loop is completed by its image in the ground plane. With the loop being driven from its apex, the electric and magnetic fields are substantially horizontal, corresponding to illumination from an overhead source. Data are presented (over the frequency range 300 kHz to 1 GHz) for the illumination field and the response of an aircraft, recorded at the Phillips Laboratory large electromagnetic system level illuminator (LESLI) research facility. >