Validation of transient V-cut antenna simulations

Significant improvements in pulsed power technology have resulted in sources being readily available that are capable of producing pulses with a height of several kV, risetimes of less than 100 ps and a pulse repetition frequency of the order of 1 kHz. The potential utilization of the wide frequency spectrum of these pulses for a variety of applications has meant that interest in ultrawideband antennas, for the effective and reliable radiation and detection of such pulse trains, has grown accordingly. The design of such an antenna depends upon the particular specifications and constraints enforced by the intended application. These constraints may be both technical (e.g. required directivity, peak power, desired aperture or radiated pulse shape) and practical (e.g. ease of deployment, weight and size restrictions etc.). In this paper, we present experimental verification of computational predictions for the behaviour of a particular directive transient antenna-the V-cut TEM horn. We also discuss some of the practical problems involved in the accurate measurement of the transient fields radiated by these antennas