Abstract
This Final Degree Project has been carried out in the frame of the project S2013/ICE-3000 (SPADERadar-CM), SPACE DEBRIS RADAR, and describes the work performed in the design of an antenna that operates at 94GHz (W band) which radiates simultaneously a sum channel an a difference channel to be part of a system able to detect space debris in board systems.
This use is gaining in significance since the amount of space debris in the orbitals more used, such as the geostationary one, is growing (it is estimated that right now around 10 million pieces of debris are swarming in orbit) and collisions with functioning systems could cause very serious damage to the structures. That is why, a systems which offers a way to avoid these collisions will become a crucial system.
To perform this, the kind of system we will need is a radar, and with the tracking function in mind, one of the most common ways to get this system is with the radiation of two channels, sum and difference channel. Sum diagram is useful to detect an object approaching, and with the null in the difference pattern we are able to track the object detected.
Having this goal in mind, it will be necessary the transmission of a combination of electromagnetic modes to generate the radiation patterns we are interested in (both sum and difference channels). In the introduction, dedicated to the state of art, we explore the different kinds of horn antennas and explain in detail the considerations to decide the best antenna for this project and the best electromagnetic modes to generate the radiation patterns we are interested in.
After the introduction we start explaining the process followed to design the matching and mode generating structure, in which we start by getting the initial values of the waveguides used and then its behavior is optimized to get the results we need, in addition to the optimization some changes in the structure are introduced to evaluate its contribution to the complete design, the whole process is analyzed successfully thanks to the use of the commercial software of electromagnetic analysis HFSS.
The designing process of the horn antenna was started with initial values obtained from theoretical expressions (initial design of a conical horn antenna, length and size of the aperture). And based on those initial designs and values it has been performed an optimizing and improving process of the radiating parameters, once again using the same commercial software of electromagnetic analysis as in the design of the matching structure, HFSS.
Finally, the complete design is analyzed to see the final behavior offered by the complete structure, (matching structure and horn antenna together). And in view of these results, we offer future lines that could be followed to improve the behavior of the system.
