Pyramidal-corrugated horn antenna for sector coverage

An antenna for use in a sectorized cellular communication system, said antenna comprising

• a wide-flare pyramidal horn having two pairs of opposed flared side walls, at least one of said two pairs of opposed walls having absorber-lined interior surfaces, the length of said horn and the flare angle of said walls having said absorber-lined interior surfaces being selected to produce a ratio Δe/λ greater than 1.5, where Δe=[α/2/λ] tan (αe/2) is the spherical-wave error of said horn, λ is the free space wavelength of the microwave signals to be transmitted by said antenna, α is the aperture width and αe is the horizontal half-angle of the horn.

A sectorized cellular communication system comprising

• multiple adjoining cells each of which has a cell site containing an antenna for transmitting signals to, and receiving signals from, users within that cell, at least some of said antennas comprising
• a wide-flare pyramidal horn having two pairs of opposed flared walls, at least one of said two pairs of opposed walls having corrugated interior surfaces, the length of said horn and the flare angle of said walls having said corrugated interior surfaces being selected to produce a ratio Δe/λ greater than 1.5, where Δe=[α/2λ] tan (αe/2) is the spherical-wave error of said horn, λ is the free space wavelength of the microwave signals to be transmitted by said antenna, α is the aperture width and αe is the horizontal half-angle of the horn.

A sectorized cellular communication system comprising

• multiple adjoining cells each of which has a cell site containing an antenna for transmitting signals to, and receiving signals from, users within that cell, at least some of said antennas comprising
• a wide-flare pyramidal horn having two pairs of opposed flared side walls, at least one of said two pairs of opposed walls having absorber-lined interior surfaces, the length of said horn and the flare angle of said walls having said absorber-lined interior surfaces being selected to produce a ratio Δe/λ greater than 1.5, where Δe=[α/2/λ] tan (αe/2) is the spherical-wave error of said horn, λ is the free space wavelength of the microwave signals to be transmitted by said antenna, α is the aperture width and αe is the horizontal half-angle of the horn.

A method of designing a wide-flare pyramidal horn for use in a sectorized cellular communication system, said horn having at least one pair of opposed walls having corrugated interior surfaces, said method comprising

• selecting a length for said horn and a flare angle for said walls having said corrugated interior surfaces to produce a ratio Δe/λ greater than 1.5, where Δe=[α/2/λ] tan (αe/2) is the spherical-wave error of said horn, λ is the free space wavelength of the microwave signals to be transmitted by said antenna, α is the aperture width and αe is the horizontal half-angle of the horn.

A method of designing a wide-flare pyramidal horn for use in a sectorized cellular communication system, said horn having at least one pair of opposed walls having corrugated interior surfaces, said method comprising

• selecting a length for said horn and a flare angle for said walls having said corrugated interior surfaces to produce a ratio αe/λ greater than 1.5, where Δe=[α/2/λ] tan (αe/2) is the spherical-wave error of said horn, λ is the free space wavelength of the microwave signals to be transmitted by said antenna, α is the aperture width and αe is the horizontal half-angle of the horn.