Low-profile helical array antenna fed from a radial waveguide

A low-profile array antenna composed of two-turn 4 degrees pitch angle helices is designed for a frequency band of 11.7 GHz to 12.0 GHz. The feed wire of each helix is inserted into a radial waveguide through a small hole and excited by a traveling wave flowing in the transverse electromagnetic mode between the two parallel plates of the waveguide. The measured aperture efficiency shows a maximum value of 77% for a beam radiated in the normal direction and 69% for a 30 degrees beam tilt.<
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