Analysis and Design of a Wideband Corrugated Conical Horn Antenna Based on Mode Matching Converter

In this paper, the design methodology of a corrugated conical horn antenna is proposed to be obtain wide-band properties over the full range of frequencies in the Ku-band. In order to improve the properties of the corrugated conical horn antenna, such as its gain, VSWR, co-polarization to cross-polarization ratio and wide-bandwidth, two types of mode matching converters are implemented within it. One is located at the end of the circular waveguide, while the other is positioned in front of the horn-flare section. The properties of the antenna are analyzed and compared according to the position of the proposed converters through simulations. In the comparison of the antenna performance in the case where the VSWR, co-polarization to cross-polarization ratio and antenna gain over the Ku band of 12-18 GHz are less than 2, greater than 30dB and 20dB respectively, the former antenna exhibits greater stability and a wider frequency band than the latter from the viewpoint of transmitting and receiving signals simultaneously. Therefore, considering the gain, VSWR, radiation pattern and bandwidth, the horn antenna structure in which the mode matching converter is implemented inside the circular waveguide has better performance than the other.