Uniaxially Symmetrical T-Junction OMT with 45°-Tilted Branch Waveguide Ports

Abstract

A T-junction orthomode transducer (OMT) is a waveguide component that separates two orthogonal linear polarizations in the same frequency band. It has a common circular waveguide short-circuited at one end and two branch rectangular waveguides arranged in opposite directions near the short circuit. One of the advantages of a T-junction OMT is its short axial length. However, the two rectangular ports, which need to be orthogonal, have different levels of performance because of asymmetry. We therefore propose a uniaxially symmetrical T-junction OMT, which is configured such that the two branch waveguides are tilted 45° to the short circuit. The uniaxially symmetrical configuration enables same levels of performance for the two ports, and its impedance matching is easier compared to that for the conventional configuration. The polarization separation principle can be explained using the principles of orthomode junction (OMJ) and turnstile OMT. Based on calculations, the proposed configuration demonstrated a return loss of 25 dB, XPD of 30 dB, isolation of 21 dB between the two branch ports, and loss of 0.25 dB, with a bandwidth of 15% in the K band. The OMT was then fabricated as a single piece via 3D printing and evaluated against the calculated performance indices.