• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.18 no.4 s.119
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• pp.430-439
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• 2007

In this paper, we propose a broadband TEM horn antenna optimized using a genetic algorithm. The characteristics required for the TEM horn are the broad matching bandwidth from 2 GHz to 10 GHz and high gain in broadside with a small gain deviation within that bandwidth. In addition, a broadband balun is designed to improve the portability and to reduce the total size of the antenna. The measured return loss of the proposed TEM horn with the broadband balun is less than -10 dB(VSWR<2) from 2 GHz to 10 GHz. Compared to a conventional triangular type TEM horn, the proposed antenna shows about 80 % reduced volume and gives the broadside gain about 12 dBi with a gain deviation less than 6 dB from 2 GHz to 10 GHz. The time domain measurement shows less than 0.4 ns group delay and the pulse measurement using the transmitting signal with the rising time of 58.5 ps shows the received pulse with the rising time of 66.5 ps, which is less than 10 % rising time variation.