Broadband Characterization of Circularly Polarized Waveguide Antennas Using L-Shaped Probe

Abstract

This paper introduces a technique to obtain the broadband characteristics of circularly polarized antennas using an L-shaped probe. A waveguide antenna is suitable for obtaining high gain and handling convenience in some applications; however, the asymmetrical structure of the L-shaped probe results in cross-polarization and frequency dependence on the field distribution of higher-order modes (HOM). In addition to the basic characteristics of a waveguide antenna with an L-shaped probe, the author discusses some techniques to reduce the HOM and cross-polarization. As a result, the 3-dB axial ratio (AR) is obtained with the fundamental mode even when the frequency is expanded to the region for HOM of TM. This reduction is mainly due to the cutoff structure to the TM mode around the short wall of the waveguide. Furthermore, some aperture modification techniques can reduce the cross-polarization in a wide range of angles in the radiation pattern. Such techniques and their mechanisms are discussed in this paper. The obtained performance shows that the proposed antennas have a wide range of angles of 3-dB AR in the radiation pattern, broadband characteristics in impedance and AR, and low variation in group velocity.