Microwave transmission device with multimode diversity combined reception

Abstract

A microwave transmission system for multipath propagation operating according to the angle diversity principle and comprising a transmitting and receiving device including a reflector antenna and a waveguide exciter horn wherein a fundamental mode and modes of a higher order can propagate, a mode coupler following the exciter horn for separating the energy components of the main mode and the higher order modes, and receiving and combining devices for obtaining the best signal from the received energy components of the various modes. The exciter horn is dimensioned so that at least two independent modes of a higher order or combinations thereof having the same polarization as the main mode can be excited in the waveguide exciter horn in addition to the main mode. In order to enlarge the radiation gain of the antenna, the waveguide exciter horn is designed, in its basic structure as well as by means of additional structural elements, such as pairs of apertures, corrugated structures, steps and bends, such that the aperture angle (.alpha.) of the radiation lobe of the main mode is matched to the aperture angle (.beta.) of the radiation lobes of the higher modes or vice versa in the plane of the electrical field as well as in the plane of the magnetic field. The mode coupler feeds more than two mutually independent received signals from the received energy components of the different modes separately to the receiving and combining devices, and includes a transmitting port which excites one mode whose preferred field direction is orthogonal to the preferred field direction of the received main mode.