MILLIMETER WAVE ANTENNA

MILLITECH PROPOSES TO DESIGN A COMPACT OFFSET CASSEGRAIN ANTENNA SYSTEM TO BE USED AT A WAVELENGTH OF 8 MM FOR CLOUD RESEARCH. THE SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED TO GIVE THE LOWSIDELOBE LEVELS CHARACTERISTIC OF AN OFFSET REFLECTOR WHILE GIVING POLARIZATION ISOLATION BETTER THAN 20 DB. THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN HIGH POLARIZATION ISOLATION AND COMPACT SIZE WILL BE RESOLVED BY USING A GAUSSIAN OPTICS LENS ANTENNA (GOLA) AT THE PRIMARY FEED. THE LENS OF THE GOLA REFOCUSES THE BEAM BETWEEN THE SUBREFLECTOR AND TWO ORTHOGONALLY POLARIZED SCALAR FEEDHORNS, THUS ALLOWING A MORE COMPACT SYSTEM. THE TWO ORTHOGONAL POLARIZATIONS ARE SEPARATED BY A WIRE GRID POLARIZER HAVING VERY HIGH (< 25 DB) POLARIZATION ISOLATION AND DIRECTED TO THE APPROPRIATE FEED. THE SYSTEM WILL BE COMPATIBLE WITH A NIKEELEVATION/AZIMUTH MOUNT. THE PHASE I OBJECTIVE IS A DETAILED DESIGN OF SUCH AN ANTENNA SYSTEM, INCLUDING ENGINEERING AND FABRICATION COST ESTIMATES. THE FIRST TASK OF THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL BE A DETAILED DETERMINATION OF THE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE ANTENNA DETERMINED VIA ASERIES OF MEETINGS WITH THE END USERS.