Accurate design method for optimum gain pyramidal horns

Design of optimum gain pyramidal horn with improved formulas using particle swarm optimization

“…Optimum gain pyramidal horns are widely used as standard gain antennas since their gains can be calculated to within 0.1 dB using their known dimensions [1,2]. An optimum gain pyramidal horn antenna is one that produces maximum gain for given E-and Hplane slant lengths.…”

“…An optimum gain pyramidal horn antenna is one that produces maximum gain for given E-and Hplane slant lengths. Several methods [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] have been presented and used to design a pyramidal horn with optimum gain. Each method has its own accuracy, limitations, and computational complexity.…”

“…Each method has its own accuracy, limitations, and computational complexity. One common feature in [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] is the use of the expressions that give optimum gain that are derived from an approximate formula (the first two terms of binomial series expansion) for the path length error that gives rise to aperture quadratic phase error [1]. The method described in [1] is only valid for long, high-gain horns, and uses trial and error (iterative technique).…”

“…The method described in [1] is only valid for long, high-gain horns, and uses trial and error (iterative technique). The method proposed in [2] avoids the application of iterative techniques, and is not restricted to high-gain horn design. However, the actual gain results do not agree well with the desired gain results.…”

“…Also, the horn problem was formulated in terms of a fourth degree polynomial that was analytically solved for the narrow aperture dimension. The methods described in [3][4][5] improved the design equations given in [2] using curve fitting. The method proposed in [6] gives more accurate results than the previous methods, but it needs a large number of inputs and outputs to develop and train a neural network.…”