Design of a Pyramidal Horn Antenna with Low E-Plane Sidelobes Using Transformation Optics

Transformation optics is a convenient way to control the pattern of electromagnetic fields. In this paper, using a novel transformation, we propose the design procedure of a horn antenna having low backlobe and sidelobe levels in its E-plane. By applying conformal transformation, the rectangular horn proposed in this paper can be realized with isotropic materials. This proposed antenna can be easily implemented by both ordinary dielectric materials and isotropic graded refractive index (GRIN) materials. In the first proposed design, in addition to the isotropy, homogeneity is furthermore introduced into the horn, and only four kinds of isotropic materials are required throughout. In the second design, it is demonstrated that the designed structure can also be implemented by graded photonic crystals (GPCs) operating in metamaterial regime. They have low loss as well as broad frequency band and are easy to implement. Simulation results are presented to validate the design approach.