Advantages of Horn Antenna | disadvantages of Horn Antenna

This page covers advantages and disadvantages of Horn Antenna. It mentions Horn Antenna advantages or benefits and Horn Antenna disadvantages or drawbacks.

What is Horn Antenna?

Introduction:
Horn antenna has been developed as extension of waveguide in order to transmit EM waves from waveguide based system into the free space. To achieve this one end of horn antenna is tapered so that microwave power from source is coupled to free space without any impedance mismatch. As a result, EM waves are propagated into the air.

The figure-1 depicts pyramidal horn antenna type. In this type flaring is made along both E-pland and H-plane directions. There are other two types of horn antenna viz. sectoral and conical based on their shape.
Refer Horn Antenna basics and types>>.

Benefits or advantages of Horn Antenna

Following are the benefits or advantages of Horn Antenna:
➨It is simple in construction.
➨It delivers adequate directivity.
➨It offers bandwidth of about 10%.
➨Horn antenna along with parabolic reflector disc can deliver high gain.

Drawbacks or disadvantages of Horn Antenna

Following are the disadvantages of Horn Antenna:
➨Horn antenna radiates energy in spherical wave front shape, as a result horn antenna does not provide sharp/directive beam.
➨Usually gain of horn antenna is limited to 20dB. This is due to the fact that in order to increase the gain when the horn opening is made larger, the length of horn also becomes excessive.