A high efficiency low-noise antenna feed system

The design and construction of a high performance satellite communications antenna system or radar antenna system is an immense undertaking requiring the utmost skills in science and economics. With present day technology it is reasonably facile to design a high performance antenna system from the scientific viewpoint alone. However, if the design is compounded by the imposition of cost considerations, the demand arises for an extremely detailed study of the tradeoffs of dollars versus performance or more succinctly "db per buck". From a cost-performance viewpoint, the parabolic aperture antenna yields the highest gain per dollar invested, hence it is of significant value to study the methods by which the parabolic antenna can be made to yield higher performance than has been previously demonstrated. This paper deals with the utilization of a Horn Parabola antenna of moderate size as a feed for a multi-reflector antenna system utilizing the conventional paraboloid, and designated the Doubly Folded Antenna[1]. This antenna has been experimentally evaluated and found topossess many of the characteristics required where high gain low-noise properties are desired.