What are Dual Linearly-Polarized Horn Antennas?

A Dual Linearly-Polarized Horn Antenna is a directional antenna that can simultaneously transmit and/or receive radio frequency (RF) signals in both horizontal and vertical planes. The word polarization refers to the orientation or direction of the electric field of the RF signal. This type of horn antenna can support both types of linear polarizations, hence the name dual linearly-polarized. Both the horizontal and vertical polarizations are orthogonal i.e. they are physically spaced 90˚ apart from each other and hence, the signals received in both directions do not interfere with each other.

The general design of a dual linearly-polarized horn antenna is similar to that of a standard horn antenna except that the aperture is designed to accommodate signals being received in both horizontal and vertical polarization directions. These antennas also have two ports, one for each type of polarization.

The design primarily consists of a waveguide and a flared horn section at the front that transmits and receives RF signals. The waveguide feeds are used to transmit RF signals to the flared horn section for actual transmission over the air. The flared section may be square in shape, rectangular, or conical depending on the application. To further improve the bandwidth over which the antenna operates, more sophisticated designs such as ridged horn antennas are available.

Dual linearly-polarized horn antennas are capable of delivering a relatively high gain over a wide bandwidth while still receiving signals in both directions from multiple objects. This enables these antennas to support high data rates compared to single linearly-polarized horn antennas, especially in multi-device electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing of MIMO systems, 5G, and large warehouses – where scanning objects within a short time is a challenge.

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