Methods for improving the performance of radome covered reflector antennas
Abstract
The performance of a reflector antenna covered by a paraboloidal fiberglass radome is analyzed in terms of the equivalent return loss and the antenna pattern and gain degradation. The return loss contribution due to a paraboloidal radome is predicted using an expression derived by Cory et al. (1978) from the power coupling theorem, and the radiation pattern is computed by tracking rays through the system. It is shown that the principal degradation in pattern arises from multiple reflected rays. Both return loss and pattern predictions are in good agreement with the measured performance. Several methods of reducing the return loss are briefly examined.
- Publication:
-
2nd International Conference on Antennas and Propagation
- Pub Date:
- 1981
- Bibcode:
- 1981icap.conf..415C
- Keywords:
-
- Antenna Radiation Patterns;
- Parabolic Reflectors;
- Radomes;
- Reflector Antennas;
- Transmission Loss;
- Microwave Antennas;
- Reflectance;
- Communications and Radar