A Ka-band Reconfigurable Horn Antenna Polarizer

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.