Compact wide band, flared horn antenna with launchers for generating circular polarized sum and difference patterns

A flared feed horn comprising:

• a dielectric substrate including a top surface and a bottom surface;
• a plurality of signal lines deposited on the bottom surface of the substrate and forming part of a TE11 sum mode launcher;
• a ground plane deposited on the top surface of the substrate;
• an outer conductor electrically coupled to the ground plane and including an internal chamber, said outer conductor including an opening opposite to the substrate defining an aperture of the feed horn, said outer conductor including a flared portion and a cylindrical portion;
• an embedded conductor positioned within the chamber and being coaxial with the outer conductor, said embedded conductor being in electrical contact with the plurality of signal lines;
• and
• a TE12 difference mode launcher electrically coupled to the outer conductor proximate the aperture.

A flared feed horn comprising:

• a dielectric substrate including a top surface and a bottom surface;
• four microstrip feed lines deposited on the bottom surface of the substrate and being oriented 90° apart, said microstrip feed lines forming part of a TE11 sum mode launcher;
• a ground plane deposited on the top surface of the substrate;
• an outer conductor electrically coupled to the ground plane and including an internal chamber, said outer conductor including an opening opposite to the substrate defining an aperture of the feed horn, said outer conductor including a first tapered portion electrically coupled to the ground plane, a second tapered portion transitioning from the first tapered portion and having a greater taper than the first taper portion, and a cylindrical portion transitioning from the second tapered portion and ending at the horn aperture;
• an embedded conductor positioned within the chamber and being coaxial with the outer conductor, said embedded conductor including a conical section in electrical contact with the at least one microstrip line and a cylindrical section opposite to the substrate;
• a TE12 difference mode launcher electrically coupled to the outer conductor proximate the aperture, wherein the signal mode launcher includes eight signal launcher pins extending into the internal chamber;
• and
• a low loss dielectric formed to an inner surface of the cylindrical portion that provides impedance mismatch correction for the difference mode.