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Published April 2011 | Published
Conference Paper Open

The experimental demonstration of a low-cost 37-horn focal-plane array consisting of smooth-walled multiple flare-angle horns fabricated by direct drilling

Abstract

In previous work, we have described novel smooth-walled multiple flare-angle horns designed using a genetic algorithm. A key feature of these horns is that they can be manufactured very rapidly and cheaply in large numbers, by repeated direct drilling into a single plate of aluminium using a shaped machine tool. The rapid manufacturing technique will enable the construction of very low cost focal-plane arrays, offering an alternative to conventional electroformed corrugated horn arrays. In order to experimentally demonstrate the new technology, we constructed a 230 GHz focal-plane array comprising 37 smooth-walled horns fabricated by direct drilling. We present the measured beam patterns for a large sample of these horns across the array, demonstrating the suitability of our manufacturing techniques for large format arrays. We have measured the cross coupling between adjacent feeds and have shown that it is negligible. We also present high quality beam patterns measured for a much smaller 700 GHz horn, showing the promise of extending this technology to THz frequencies.

Additional Information

© 2011 Associated Universities, Inc. This work was supported by an STFC follow-on fund grant and by the Keck Institute for Space Studies, at the California Institute of Technology. We thank Bertrand Thomas, Manju Henry, Jeanne Treuttel and M.L. Oldfield at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories for their help in making beam pattern measurements for the single and dual horn prototypes. We are pursuing the commercialisation of this technology with ISIS Innovation Ltd, the technology transfer company of the University of Oxford.

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August 19, 2023
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October 17, 2023