A Gain Enhancing Mesh (GEM) in Front of Horn Arrays to Improve Aperture Efficiency

The realizable aperture efficiency of electronically steered horn arrays is restricted by the thickness of the horn walls. The minimum thickness is driven by manufacturing limitations. Introducing a metal grid structure over the horn array can appreciably increase aperture efficiency [1]. This gain enhancing mesh (GEM) may be integrated into a radome, dust cover, or meander-line polarizer. An improvement in aperture efficiency of over 0.4 dB at the EHF band has been demonstrated.