Design of a Metal 3D Printed Double-Ridged Horn Antenna With Stable Gain and Symmetric Radiation Pattern Over a Wide Frequency Range

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a metal 3D printed double-ridged horn antenna with a truncated cone feeding structure, curve-shaped cavity, and mode suppressor for a feeder of a reflector antenna. The truncated cone feeding structure is employed to obtain symmetrical patterns, and the curve-shaped cavity is implemented to obtain broadband characteristics. The mode suppressor is then applied to maintain a stable bore-sight gain. To simplify the manufacturing and assembly process, the proposed antenna is designed with only two parts and is fabricated using metal 3D printing technology. To verify the performance of the antenna, the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), bore-sight gains, and radiation patterns are measured in a full anechoic chamber. The measured VSWR shows a maximum of 3.0 and an average of 1.9 from 2 GHz to 18 GHz. At 2 GHz, the measured bore-sight gains in the radiation pattern are 5.37 dBi for co-polarization and -20.7 dBi for cross-polarization. The measured radiation patterns are in good agreement with the simulated results.