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Abstract Ever‐increasing bandwidth requirements from various industries drive the need for the ever‐increasing bandwidth of antennas used for testing. Broadband Double‐Ridged Guide Horn (DRGH) antennas are used extensively in antenna measurement and ElectroMagnetic Compatibility/Interference (EMC/I) testing. The current state‐of‐the‐art broadband DRGH antennas reported in the literature for use in measurement applications cover bandwidth ratios as large as 36:1 (0.5–18 GHz). This paper presents the design and realisation of a DRGH antenna with a 100:1 bandwidth ratio (0.5–50 GHz). To achieve such a wide bandwidth, the ridge gap, width and feed were optimised, and a novel coaxial‐to‐ridge waveguide launcher section based on a typical Vivaldi antenna was developed. Backward radiation was reduced using an absorber‐filled cavity. A prototype DRGH antenna was manufactured using additive manufacturing, also referred to as 3D printing. Simulated and measured results obtained in an anechoic chamber are presented.

A planar phase gradient metasurface (PGM) with phase gradients in two in-plane directions will introduce two additional wave vectors to the reflected wave vector. For small incident angles, close to the normal vector, the magnitude of the reflected wave vector is smaller than that of the incident wave vector and the direction of the anomalous reflected wave can be determined from the incident wave vector components and additional phase gradient components. The expanded generalized Snell’s law, which includes diffraction order modes, is combined with array theory to accurately predict the directions of the reflected waves from a planar PGM for incident angles where the magnitude of the reflected wave vector is larger than that of the incident wave vector. The predicted directions of the reflected waves from a planar PGM are compared with simulated RCS results obtained with CST Studio Suite and measured results obtained in a compact range.

Abstract A new technique to implement wideband 90° hybrid coupling profiles on non‐optimal substrate configurations is presented. The technique uses an impedance taper over the whole length of the hybrid to remove the restriction of a substrate defined maximum coupling coefficient at crossover, thus resulting in much more flexibility for the implementation of hybrids on integrated printed circuit boards. The choice of board thicknesses and material type no longer needs to be dominated by the hybrid, but can be optimized for other components or priorities. The flexibility provided by the technique is shown in the implementation of a 2–18 GHz hybrid on a large range of substrate thicknesses as well as on a non‐optimal substrate material, for which acceptable measured performance is still obtained.

Abstract Results are presented fora wideband printed magneto‐electric dipole antenna. The printed electric dipole and reflector are separated by an air‐gap and is fed with a coaxial transmission line and a printed proximity coupled T‐shaped feeding strip. The slot between the electric dipole halves forms the magnetic dipole radiating aperture. This feeding mechanism allows for good impedance matching at adjacent resonances of the electric and magnetic dipoles to achieve wideband operation. The two printed electric dipole halves are DC shorted to the reflector. The results show that this antenna can operate over a wide bandwidth with good gain, stable unidirectional radiation patterns and low cross polarization. The effect of the air‐gap height and the relative permittivity of the substrate on which the dipole is printed are investigated. Results show that an optimum air‐gap height for a specific substrate permittivity can be determined that will result in a gain with a small variation over the entire impedance bandwidth of the antenna. Simulated as well as measured results are presented for a prototype antenna with a small gain variation and overall dimensions of 1.33λ0 × 1.33λ0 × 0.19λ0. A measured impedance bandwidth of 54% with an average gain of 9.2 dBi is achieved.

Abstract Broadband double‐ridged guide horn (DRGH) antennas are extensively used in antenna measurement and electromagnetic compatibility and interference testing, especially the 1–18 GHz DRGH antenna which is widely accepted as a standard for this band. Certain deficiencies in the radiation patterns have been identified and corrected by several authors, but the use was still limited to the 1–18 GHz frequency band. The incorporation of absorber materials and lenses has resulted in horn antennas with wider bandwidths; however, this complicates the manufacturing process and restricts these designs to lower power applications. Simulated and measured results for a new 0.5–18 GHz (36:1) DRGH antenna are presented here. The wider bandwidth is made possible by a new cavity design and optimising the design of the other antenna sections to allow wideband operation without using a lens or absorber. The new design has double the bandwidth ratio and is very compact, with an aperture size of 26.4 cm × 15.2 cm; the aperture sides are less than 12% larger than the sides of the aperture of the conventional 1–18 GHz DRGH antenna (24.2 cm × 13.6 cm).

In recent years, significant advances have been made in diversifying the capabilities of communication systems by using reconfigurable antennas. There are many types of reconfigurable antennas—to achieve pattern, frequency, or polarization reconfigurability. These antennas are reconfigured either by the mechanical rotation of surfaces or by enabling or disabling specific sections of the structure using electrical switches. This paper focuses on the concept of a polarization reconfigurable antenna based on an active reflector-backed metasurface. An antenna system based on an active reflector-backed metasurface combined with a planar dipole is designed to achieve reconfigurable polarization. The polarization of the designed antenna can be switched between linear and circular polarization states using positive-intrinsic-negative diodes located in the unit cell elements of the metasurface. The measured results correlate well with the simulated results. The antenna has a physical size of 308 × 162 × 35 mm3 with an impedance bandwidth of 4.5% in the linear state and 7% in the circular state, as well as an axial ratio bandwidth larger than 8.3%.