E-band wideband high-efficiency plate array antenna based on integrated ridge horn

In this paper, a plate array antenna with high-efficiency and high-gain is developed and fabricated. It is able to cover the whole frequency band from 71 GHz to 86 GHz. The ridge horn with low cross-polarization level is selected as the radiating element. It has a simple configuration and can be designed easily to achieve a good performance. 16×16 radiating elements are excited by a compact and wideband feeding network including E-plane and H-plane dividers. This type of antenna is fabricated and measured. Its minimal gain can be up to 29.7 dBi within the whole frequency band and the minimal total efficiency is about 60%. The cross-polarization level is less than - 40 dB.