Discussion of the Transmission Efficiency of Quasi-optical Reflector Antenna Across Various Levels of Feeder Performance

Authors

  • Haoran Zhang College of Information Science and Technology Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 100191 Beijing, China
  • Ming Jin College of Information Science and Technology Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 100191 Beijing, China https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1977-8029

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/2025.ACES.J.400207

Keywords:

Brightness temperature leakage, microwave radiometer calibration, quasi-optical reflector antenna

Abstract

For microwave radiometer calibration, higher main beam efficiency reduces interference from environmental brightness temperature (BT). A key challenge for high-frequency microwave sounders is achieving high main beam efficiency with limited mirror size. Although efficiency has improved to around 95-98%, there is still room for improvement. This study investigates the main beam efficiency of ground-based radiometer antenna systems, considering feeders with different radiating qualities and mirror conditions. A quasi-ellipsoidal mirror with feeders operating at multiple discrete frequencies is designed to optimize the optical path for microwave calibration. The key focus is transmission efficiency, which affects BT leakage. Numerical results for various feeders are compared - straight wall corrugated horns with 98.2% Gaussian content, dual-mode horns with 98.5%, curved wall corrugated horns with 99.8%, and ideal Gaussian beams - highlighting achievable transmission levels in different polarizations with different feeders. Design curves for the high main beam efficiency quasi-optical reflector antenna system are provided. Such information is beneficial and of direct referencing value for practical radiometer reflector antenna designs.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Haoran Zhang, College of Information Science and Technology Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 100191 Beijing, China

Haoran Zhang received the B.Sc. degree from Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) in 2023, where he is now pursuing his master’s degree. His research interest is the design of quasi-optical antennas.

Ming Jin, College of Information Science and Technology Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 100191 Beijing, China

Ming Jin received the B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Beihang University (BUAA), Beijing, China, in 2007 and 2013, respectively. From 2007 to 2012, he was a research assistant in the Microwave Engineering Laboratory, Beihang University. From December 2010 to March 2011, he was a Visiting Scholar at Arizona State University. In 2019, he joined the College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) as an associate professor. His research interests include microwave radiometer calibration techniques, quasi-optical beam propagation and computational electromagnetics.

References

D. Draper, Q. Remund, D. Newell, and S. Krimchansky, “A comparison of GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) high frequency channel brightness temperatures to the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS),” in IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Milan, Italy, pp. 5146-5149, 2015.

N. Sun and F. Weng, “Evaluation of Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) environ-mental data records,” IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 1006-1016, Apr. 2008.

M. Jin, R. Yuan, X. Li, Y. Tao, Q. Gao, and M. Bai, ”Wideband microwave calibration target design for improved directional brightness temperature radiation,” IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, vol. 19, pp. 1-5, 2022.

Z. Li, Y. Zhang, K. Liu, D. Liu, and J. Miao, “A millimeter and sub-millimeter wave multi-channel quasi-optical system for microwave radio-meter,” in IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Quebec City, QC, Canada, pp. 3033-3036, 2014.

A. L. Woodcraft, S. T. Froud, R. J. Wylde, P. A. R. Ade, R. V. Sudiwala, C. E. Tucker, S. M. Tun, M. Bray, P. Campbell, G. Maxwell-Cox, and V. Kangas, “Design and testing of the quasi-optical network for the MetOp-SG microwave sounder,” in 17th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (Eu-CAP), Florence, Italy, pp. 1-5, 2023.

W. Hongjian, “Design and analysis of FengYun3 Microwave Humidity Sounder (FY3MHS) Antenna,” in IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting, Atlanta, GA, USA, pp. 471-472, 2019.

I. A. Osaretin, M. W. Shields, J. A. M. Lorenzo, and W. J. Blackwell, “A compact 118-GHz radiometer antenna for the micro-sized microwave atmospheric satellite,” IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, vol. 13, pp. 1533-1536, 2014.

V. Kangas, S. D’Addio, G. Mason, M. Buckley, G. Tennant, and P. Campbell, “Microwave sounder instrument for MetOp second generation,” in 13th Specialist Meeting on Microwave Radiometry and Remote Sensing of the Environment (MicroRad), Pasadena, CA, USA, pp. 232-235, 2014.

R. Dey, R. Ram, S. Kulshrestha, V. K. Singh, and M. B. Mahajan, “Design and development of antenna system for millimeter-wave humidity sounder payload,” in IEEE Microwaves, Antennas, and Propagation Conference (MAP-CON), Ahmedabad, India, pp. 1-4, 2023.

W. J. Blackwell, “Antenna development for microwave sounding CubeSats,” in IEEE Inter-national Symposium on Antennas and Propagation (APSURSI), Fajardo, PR, USA, pp. 1537-1538, 2016.

R. Albers, A. Emrich, and A. Murk, “Antenna design for the arctic weather satellite micro-wave sounder,” IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation, vol. 4, pp. 686-694, 2023.

E. Kim, V. Leslie, J. Lyu, C. Smith, I. Osaretin, S. Abraham, M. Sammons, K. Anderson, J. Amato, J. Fuentes, M. Hernquist, M. Landrum, F. Rodriguez-Gutierrez, J. Kam, P. Cho, H. Yang, Q. Liu, and N. Sun, “Pre-launch performance of the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) on the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 Satellite (JPSS-2),” in IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Waikoloa, HI, USA, pp. 6353-6356, 2020.

D. A. Houtz, W. Emery, D. Gu, K. Jacob, A. Murk, D. K. Walker, and R. J. Wylde, “Electromagnetic design and performance of a conical microwave blackbody target for radiometer calibration,” IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 55, no. 8, pp. 4586-4596, Aug. 2017.

K. Jacob, A. Schröder, L. von Werra, F. Reinhard, P. Raisin, and A. Murk, “Radiometric characterization of a water-based conical blackbody calibration target for millimeter-wave remote sensing,” IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 1688-1696, June 2019.

L. Cheng, Y. Li, X. Zhang, L. Xia, Y. Yang, and P. Li, “A fast and accurate design method for the smooth-walled horn antenna with a high Gaussian coupling efficiency,” in 16th UK-Europe-China Workshop on Millimetre Waves and Terahertz Technologies (UCMMT), Guang-zhou, China, pp. 1-3, 2023.

L. Cheng, F. Wu, Y. Zhou, D. Li, Y. Yang, and L. Jin, “Study on horn antenna with a high Gaussian coupling efficiency,” in CIE International Conference on Radar (Radar), Haikou, Hainan, China, pp. 1976-1979, 2021.

B. Li, M. Jin, M. Bai, and Z. Li, “Quasi-optical antennas design in the standard measurement facility on the emissivity from microwave calibration targets,” Journal of Astronautic Metrology and Measurement, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 9-15, 2018.

J. E. McKay, D. A. Robertson, P. J. Speirs, R. I. Hunter, R. J. Wylde, and G. M. Smith, “Compact corrugated feedhorns with high Gaussian coupling efficiency and -60 dB sidelobes,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 64, no. 6, pp. 2518-2522, June 2016.

F. Teng, J. Wan, and J. Liu, “Design of a 118 GHz corrugated horn based on the modal analysis,” in IEEE International Workshop on Electromagnetics: Applications and Student Innovation Competition (iWEM), Guangzhou, China, pp. 1-3, 2021.

FEKO. Altair Engineering, Inc., Troy, MI, 2020.

Downloads

Published

2025-02-28

How to Cite

[1]
H. . Zhang and M. . Jin, “Discussion of the Transmission Efficiency of Quasi-optical Reflector Antenna Across Various Levels of Feeder Performance”, ACES Journal, vol. 40, no. 02, pp. 138–147, Feb. 2025.

Issue

2025: Vol 40 Iss 2

Section

General Submission

Categories