Abstract:
The increasing dependence on wireless communication systems has yielded rapid
development in these systems and increasing demand for robust and adaptive structures
and methods that achieve different wireless communication goals. Impromptu wireless
communication for emergency situations or in areas with a diminished infrastructure
requires portable agile antennas. Linearly polarized horn antennas are robust and effective
candidates in that matter and achieve high gain, high efficiency, and stable radiation
patterns for a variety of applications. Linearly polarized signals are exposed to multipath
fading and are prone to exhibit polarization rotation as they propagate through the
ionosphere. This reduces the efficiency of polarization at the receiver end. When the
advantages of a naturally linearly polarized horn antenna are combined with the
advantages of a polarizer, the antenna is able to operate more efficiently for a wider range
of applications and different polarization schemes.
The antenna being proposed for this communication system is reconfigurable,
lightweight, compact, millimeter sized, and cost-effective. Both simulations and
measurements were conducted to validate the results of a novel Ka-Band reconfigurable
circular polarizer designed for pyramidal horn antennas. Reconfigurability is achieved
without changing the original horn antenna size, causing a gain reduction or majorly
altering the radiation pattern. The circular polarizer exhibits advantages over similar
state-of-the-art Ka-Band models in circular polarization bandwidth, reconfigurability,
and gain for both the design’s static and reconfigurable states.
