What are Horn Antennas?
Waveguide Horn Antennas are directional antennas that have high gains and can operate at high frequencies with a large bandwidth. Horn antennas consist of a flared waveguide which is shaped like a horn and are used in the transmission and reception of RF microwave signals. They are usually used in conjunction with waveguide feeds and direct radio waves in a narrow beam. The flared portion can be square, rectangular, or conical. For proper functioning, a horn antenna must be a certain minimum size relative to the wavelength of the incoming or outgoing electromagnetic fields. If the horn is too small or the wavelength is too large (the frequency is too low), the antenna will not work efficiently.
Horn antennas are popular for high frequency applications above 1 GHz, that go as high as 140 GHz. They provide a high gain, low VSWR (with waveguide feeds), relatively wide bandwidth, and are not difficult to make. Horn antennas have a wide range of applications and are used in short-range radar systems, particularly those used by law-enforcement personnel to measure the speeds of approaching or retreating vehicles. They also find applications in the areas of wireless communications, electromagnetic sensing, RF heating and biomedicine.
These antennas are commonly used as the active element in a dish antenna. In this case, the horn is pointed toward the center of the dish reflector. The use of a horn, rather than a dipole antenna or any other type of antenna, at the focal point of the dish minimizes loss of energy (leakage) around the edges of the dish reflector. It also minimizes the response of the antenna to unwanted signals not in the favored direction of the dish.
Important parameters when looking for Horn Antennas:
Operating Frequency: It is the frequency range over which a horn antenna can transmit and receive RF signals.
Gain: An antenna's gain is a key performance number that combines the antenna's directivity and electrical efficiency. In transmission, the gain describes how well the antenna converts input power into radio waves headed in a specified direction. In reception, the gain describes how well the antenna converts radio waves arriving from a specified direction into electrical power.
VSWR: Voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is a unit-less ratio ranging from one to infinity, expressing the amount of reflected energy at the input or output of the device. A value of 1 indicates that all of the energy is delivered to the load while a value greater than 1 indicates that a portion of the energy will be reflected. Click here for more on VSWR.
Waveguide Size: Waveguide cross section is the size of the feed line for the signal to pass through. It is relative to the wavelength of the signal. Cross Section is represented as “WR” followed by a number. The ‘WR’ means rectangular, and the number represents the size in inches. The waveguide size will also determine the frequency of the horn antenna.
everything RF lists Horn antenna from the leading manufacturers. Narrow down the list of antennas by entering your required frequency range and gain - Our search tool will filter through the complete catalog of products to find Horn antennas that meet your requirement. You can request quotations, download datasheets and compare the products. All inquiries made via everything RF will be directed to the manufacturer and/or their distributors/sales reps in your region.
