A Wideband Corrugated Ridged Horn Antenna With Enhanced Gain and Stable Phase Center for X- and Ku-Band Applications

Abstract

In this letter, a structure and design procedure of a novel double-flared conical horn antenna with an improved gain and a stable phase center is presented. The antenna incorporates a hybrid ridged and corrugated structure. A double-ridged section is responsible for ensuring a wideband operation, whereas the corrugated section supports the hybrid mode. The antenna impedance bandwidth (VSWR < 2) is 6–20 GHz. An excellent performance is demonstrated for both the X- and Ku-bands. In particular, the antenna exhibits 12–18 dBi gain over both operating bands, a constant 44°, 10 dB beamwidth radiation pattern over the Ku-band and a close-to-constant 65° beamwidth over the X-band. The design is validated using both numerically and experimentally. The measurement and simulation indicate that the phase center variation in the X- and the Ku-bands is less than 2 and 1.5 cm, respectively.