Cross polarizing effects of a water film on a parabolic reflector at microwave frequencies

The cross polarizing effects introduced by a uniform water film on the surface of a parabolic reflector are evaluated at 10 and 34 GHz. The reflector is considered to be illuminated by an isotropic linearly polarized source at the focus, but the analysis can be applied for any given primary feed aperture field distribution. The aperture cress polarized field is obtained, and a worst case diffraction field (when opposite quadrants of the reflector are wet) is then calculated. A relatively low level cross polarizing effect is predicted, dependent on diameter-to-focal-length ratio.