Mechanical Reinforcement Technique for Flat Radomes at Millimeter-Wave Frequencies

A technique to enhance the mechanical and thermal properties of flat radomes integrated with high-power horns is presented. Specifically, metallic strips, referred to as rebars (from reinforcing bars), are deployed as structural reinforcement across the radome-enclosed antenna aperture. This enables the use of thinner, more fragile materials, with lower loss and permittivity, as protective covers without detrimentally affecting the RF performance. A maximum gain greater than 15.4 dBi and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) <; 1.5 are maintained with the rebar across the 18-45 GHz band for a given horn and radome. Moreover, the pressurization handling for the baseline radome is improved from 5 to 14 psig while theoretically maintaining the ability to support 750 W of continuous wave power. The studies are carried out in the electrical, thermal, and mechanical domains.