A Nonreciprocal Circular Polarizer

A nonreciprocal circular polarizer has been developed. This ferrite device converts linear polarization propagating in rectangular waveguide into circular polarization propagating in circular waveguide. The sense, right- or left-hand, of the circular polarization is determined by the direction of a longitudinal magnetic field applied to the ferrite. If one sense of circular polarization, e.g., right-hand, is transmitted, then only left-hand circuIar polarization can be received. Performance data indicate good ellipticity with reasonable loss and VSWR for two models of the circular polarizer, and for two devices--a circulator and a nonreciprocal antenna element--based on the polarizer. The antenna element permits one antenna to be used both to transmit and to receive the reflected circularly polarized signals from a target.