An offset dual shaped reflector with 84.5 percent efficiency

Abstract

The theoretical and experimental study of a 1.5 m offset dual shaped reflector at 31.4 GHz is summarized. An efficiency of 84.5 percent, a possible record for reflector antennas of this size, was ascertained through careful measurements. For larger low noise reflector systems, a 2 to 3 dB improvement in gain over noise temperature ratio <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">(G/T)</tex> performance over the state-of-the-art ultralow noise ground stations and 90 percent or better aperture efficiency now appear feasible.