Microwave antenna system

A microwave antenna system, which comprises a plurality of waveguide elements, each of said waveguide elements including means for permitting both left-hand and right-hand circularly polarized microwave signals to be transmitted therethrough, said left-hand circularly polarized microwave signal having orthogonal electric field components rotating in a plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of said left-hand circularly polarized signal, said right-hand circularly polarized signal having orthogonal electric field components rotating in a plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of said left-hand circularly polarized signal and rotating in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of said orthogonal electric field components of said left-hand circularly polarized microwave signal, and each of said waveguide elements having an open end, and means, attached at or near said open end, for equalizing said orthogonal electric field components, perpendicular to the direction of propagation, of said left-hand circularly polarized microwave signal and for equalizing the intensity of said orthogonal electric field components, perpendicular to the direction of propagation, of said right-hand circularly polarized microwave signal.

A microwave antenna system which comprises:

• a plurality of waveguide elements, each of said waveguide elements having first and second ports, means for converting a first linearly polarized microwave signal at one of said ports to or from a left-hand circularly polarized microwave signal within said waveguide element and for converting a second linearly polarized signal at the other of said ports to or from a right-hand circularly polarized microwave signal, each of said waveguide elements having an end, separated from said first and second ports by said converting means, said waveguide element end being in communication with free space, thereby, to permit circularly polarized microwave electromagnetic radiation to be transmitted from or received by said waveguide element end, and said waveguide element end having associated with it isolation means for reducing mutual coupling of circularly polarized microwave radiation associated with one of said waveguide elements with such circularly polarized microwave radiation of other of said waveguide elements.

A microwave antenna system, which comprises:

• a plurality of waveguide elements, each of said waveguide elements having first and second ports and an end spaced, via the microwave transmission path, from said ports, means for converting a first linearly polarized microwave signal at one of said ports to or from a left-hand circularly polarized microwave signal within said waveguide element and for converting a second linearly polarized microwave signal to or from a right-hand circularly polarized microwave signal, each of said microwave signals having orthogonal electric field components perpendicular to its direction of propagation, the orthogonal electric field components of said left-hand circularly polarized signal having a resultant electric field rotating in a first direction, the orthogonal electric field components of said right-hand circularly polarized microwave signal having a resultant electric field rotating in a second direction, and means, attached at or near said waveguide element end, for equalizing the intensity of the orthogonal electric field components of said left-hand circularly polarized microwave signal and for equalizing the intensity of the orthogonal electric field components of said right-hand circularly polarized microwave signal.