Development of Full D-Band Corrugated Horn Antenna for ECRH System

The corrugated horn antenna is widely used for the evaluation of transmission lines in electron cyclotron resonant heating systems, but little is known about the intensity and phase of its radiation profile over a wide frequency range. This paper is concerned with the development of a full D-band (110 170 GHz) corrugated horn antenna. The antenna was designed based on electromagnetic simulation codes for the finite element method and the method of moment. To verify these numerical simulations, a low-power test system was established, and its dynamic power range was defined for the precise measurement of antenna radiation. The fabricated antenna was measured and analyzed with basic Gaussian optics for a number of frequencies throughout the D-band. The measured radiation profiles are Gaussian-like and agree well with the numerical simulations. The radiated intensity pattern is slightly elliptical in the lower frequency range, as unwanted higher-order modes arose at the corrugated mode conversion section and generated the elliptical radiation pattern. The evolutions of the antenna radiation do not correspond with those expected by basic Gaussian optics.