Communication system with broadband antenna

• US 7,403,166 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2005
• Issued: 07/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Astronics Aerosat, Co. (Astronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aerosat Corporation (Astronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Flannery, Matthew, Barrett, Michael, Blanda, Frank, Clymer, Richard, Krivicich, Robert, Anderson, Richard B.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEN, SHIH CHAO
• Application Number:
  US11/234,870
• Publication Number:
  US 20060071876A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: 343/713, 343/762, 343/786, 343/911.R
• US Class Current: 343/713
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/161 sustaining two independent orthogonal modes, e.g. orthomode transducer combining or separating polarisations and frequencies H01P1/2131
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/28 Adaptation for use in or on aircraft, missiles, satellites, or balloons
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/32 Adaptation for use in or on road or rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/02 Waveguide horns
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/0258 Orthomode horns orthomode transducers H01P1/161
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/02 Refracting or diffracting devices, e.g. lens, prism
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/08 formed of solid dielectric material
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/242 Polarisation converters
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/08 for modifying the radiation pattern of a radiating horn in which it is located corrugated horns H01Q13/0208; producing a circular polarisation H01Q13/0241
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0037 linear waveguide fed arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/08 the units being spaced along or adjacent to a rectilinear path waveguide fed H01Q21/0037
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/08 for varying two co-ordinates of the orientation

Abstract

A communication system including an antenna array with feed network coupled to communication electronics. In one example, a communication subsystem comprises a plurality of antennas each adapted to receive an information signal and a plurality of orthomode transducers coupled to corresponding ones of the plurality of antennas, each OMT is adapted to provide at a first component signal having a first polarization and a second component signal having a second polarization. The communication subsystem also comprises a feed network that receives the first component signal and the second component signal from each orthomode transducer and provides a first summed component signal at a first feed port and a second summed component signal at a second feed port, and a phase correction device coupled to the first and second feed ports and adapted to phase match the first summed component signal with the second summed component signal.

Claims

1. An antenna assembly comprising:

a first horn antenna adapted to receive a signal from a source;

a second horn antenna, substantially identical to the first antenna, and adapted to receive the signal;

a first dielectric lens coupled to the first horn antenna to focus the signal to a feed point of the first horn antenna, the first dielectric lens having at least one groove formed in a surface thereof;

a second dielectric lens coupled to the second horn antenna to focus the signal to a feed point of the second horn antenna, the second dielectric lens having at least one groove formed in a surface thereof;

a waveguide feed network coupled to the feed points of the first and second horn antennas and including a first feed port and a second feed port, the waveguide feed network being constructed to receive the signal from the horn antennas and to provide a first component signal having a first polarization at the first feed port and a second component signal having a second polarization at the second feed port; and

a polarization converter unit coupled to the first feed port and the second feed port that is configured to compensate for any polarization skew between the antennas and the source.

2. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second dielectric lenses are internal-step Fresnel lenses comprising a single step Fresnel feature.

3. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dielectric lenses have a plano-convex exterior shape.

4. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one groove comprises a plurality of grooves formed as concentric rings.

5. The antenna array as claimed in claim 4, wherein the plurality of grooves are formed on a convex surface of each of the dielectric lenses.

6. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first dielectric lens and the second dielectric lens is an internal-step Fresnel dielectric lens comprising:

a first, exterior surface having at least one exterior groove formed therein;

a second, opposing surface having at least one groove formed therein; and

a single step Fresnel feature formed within an interior of the internal-step Fresnel dielectric lens, the single step Fresnel feature having a first boundary adjacent the second surface and a second, opposing boundary;

wherein the second boundary has at least one groove formed therein.

7. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first surface of the internal-step Fresnel dielectric lens is convex in shape and the second surface of the lens is planar.

8. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the single step Fresnel feature is trapezoidal in shape with the first boundary being substantially parallel to the second surface of the lens.

9. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least one groove formed on any of the first surface of the lens, the second surface of the lens and the second boundary of the single step Fresnel feature comprises a plurality of grooves formed as concentric rings.

10. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second dielectric lenses comprise a cross-linked polymer polystyrene material.

11. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second dielectric lenses comprise Rexolite®

.

12. An antenna assembly comprising:

an antenna adapted to receive an information signal;

an orthomode transducer coupled to a feed point of the antenna and having a first port and a second port, the orthomode transducer being constructed to receive the information signal from the antenna and to split the information signal to provide, at the first port, a first component signal and, at the second port, a second component signal, the second component signal being orthogonally polarized to the first component signal; and

a polarization converter unit coupled to the first and second ports of the orthomode transducer and adapted to receive the first and second component signals;

wherein the polarization converter unit is constructed to compensate for polarization skew between the antenna and a source of the information signal and to phase match the first component signal to the second component signal; and

wherein the polarization converter unit is further adapted to reconstruct the information signal, with any polarization, from the first and second component signals.

13. The antenna assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein the antenna is a horn antenna.