An optimized quad-ridged horn antenna with pyramidal sidewalls

作者:van der Merwe P H*; Odendaal J W; Joubert J
来源:Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications, 2013, 27(17): 2263-2273.
DOI:10.1080/09205071.2013.840251

摘要

The wideband gain and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) performance of quad-ridged horn antennas in general are restricted due to the excitation of higher order modes in the coaxial to quad-ridged waveguide transition. This results in large gain variations vs. frequency and break-up of the radiation patterns at higher frequencies. In this paper, a quad-ridged horn antenna is presented with optimized radiation characteristics and VSWR performance. The performance of the antenna was optimized by separating the antenna into two subsections, viz. a coaxial to quad-ridged waveguide transition section and a flared quad-ridged horn section. The performance of each section was optimized individually using a numerical solver - CST Microwave Studio. Three possible configuration of the coaxial to quad-ridged waveguide transition section were considered and optimized. Four configurations for the flared quad-ridged horn section were also investigated. The best performing configuration from each one of the two sections were combined to yield the final design of the optimized quad-ridged horn antenna. The numerical performance of the quad-ridged horn antenna was validated through measurements, performed in a compact antenna test range. The optimized antenna has a 12.5:1 frequency bandwidth from 0.8 to 10GHz. Over this frequency range, the antenna has a VSWR performance typically better than 2.5:1, stable boresight gain and radiation patterns for both ports with more than 30dB isolation between the two ports.

  • 出版日期2013-11-1

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