Electromagnetic Reverberation Chambers

Foreword

The authors of this book have done me the honor of entrusting me with this foreword, and above all of mentioning my activities in the field of the mode-stirred chambers at the Academic Naval Institute of Naples (currently Parthenope University of Naples). Somehow, I have on this matter the benefit of age, which allows me to give some little-known indications about a period of time when there were very few people studying reverberation chambers. It is particularly pleasant to see that nowadays this subject finds a place in numerous sessions, during conferences and other international meetings.

As is so often the case, activity comes from a very specific and almost always anecdotal motivation. This was the case for reverberation chambers. At the beginning of the 1970s, microwaves started to spread in Italy and there were some worries about them. In 1974-1975, we were consulted about the methods of measuring electromagnetic radiation. At this time, we were working on the extraction principle of the signals drowned out by noise, as well as on the possibility of using this technique in the field of electromagnetic waves. The idea to make electromagnetic radiation become incoherent via agitation of the walls or, more easily, with the rotation of the metal surfaces was then almost natural.

At the same time, in the United States, we were studying the inefficiency of the MIL-STD norms, for the evaluation of shielding effectiveness. The method used a compact resonant cavity, where ...