Ultra-broadband high efficiency mode converter

Abstract

In this paper we develop a small-sized mode converter with high performance, high conversion efficiency and instantaneous bandwidth as high as 55%. This mode converter transforms energy from the TM01 first high-order mode towards the fundamental TE11 circular waveguide mode. The proposed structure increases the free spurious operating bandwidth in comparison with the existing results in literature. An X/Ku-bands experiment prototype unit was designed, ensuring practical return losses better than 28 dB and insertion losses less than 0.1 dB (conversion efficiency > 98.8%) within the entire frequency bandwidth ranging from 9.25 GHz to 16.25 GHz. The presented architecture offers useful features such as very wide bandwidth, small size, easy achievement as well as excellent performance, which makes it very suitable for High-power microwave (HPM) sources that generate the TM01 circular waveguide mode. In these cases the TE11 mode is needed since it has a convergent radiation pattern able to drive conventional antennas. Moreover, this compact concept is fully scalable to any millimeter frequency band.