Spherical wave blockage in reflector antennas

Abstract

The effects of the spherical wave blockage in reflector antennas is investigated. This problem is likely to occur in axially symmetrical feed antennas of single- and dual-reflector type in both single- and dual-reflector configurations, owing to the presence of primary feeds and their supports including struts that are normally placed between the primary source and the main reflector. The main reflector blockage due to large obstacles is estimated by the well-known null-field technique that employs flat polygonal plate models of the masking structures to define the obscured area. Although this same approach may be used to predict the spherical wave blockage due to the struts, a more rigorous but yet efficient technique is also employed, which consists of superimposing to the primary field the high-frequency scattered field from the struts. This field is calculated by using scattering coefficients that are derived by locally approximating the actual structure, by an infinite circular cylinder. This latter formulation is compared with the null-field technique and validated by an experimental campaign. The measurement setup is particularly useful for isolating spherical wave-blockage effects. It consists of a single-reflector offset antenna where a single strut is mounted with its axis parallel to that of the focusing parabola, thus, practically enforcing the plane wave blockage to vanish. Comparisons with the measurements have shown that the null-field approach is adequate for predicting the secondary pattern for large polygonal obstacle, but it is unsatisfactory to treat the strut blockage. It is found that this latter can be successfully described with the more rigorous high-frequency approach.