Analysis of H-plane sectoral horn by tensorial Maxwell equations

Horn antennas are often used as feeds for reflector antennas in broadcasting communications and radioastronomy. However, space applications need to optimize RF and mechanical requirements while reducing the horns bulk. To obtain this result, a new technique combining tensorial analysis (TA) and a hybrid modal-spectral method (HMSM), is proposed in this paper, to solve the entire problem of H-plane sectoral horns, including the aperture half-space discontinuity. To validate the method, the radiation and reflection characteristics of a classical sectoral horn are measured and compared with numerical results. Very good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results is obtained.<>