Design, Uncertainty Analysis, and Measurement of a Silicon-Based Platelet THz Corrugated Horn

Platelets corrugated horn is a promising technology for its scalability to a large corrugated horn array. In this communication, we present the design, fabrication, measurement, and uncertainty analysis of a wideband 170-320 GHz platelet corrugated horn that features with low sidelobe across the band (<-30 dB). We also propose an accurate and universal method to analyze the axial misalignment of the platelets for the first time. It is based on the mode matching (MM) method with a closed-form solution to off-axis circular waveguide discontinuities obtained by using Graf addition theorem for the Bessel functions. The uncertainties introduced in the fabrication have been quantitatively analyzed using the Monte Carlo method. The analysis shows that the cross-polarization of the corrugated horn degrades significantly with the axial misalignment. It well explains the discrepancy between the designed and the measured cross-polarization of platelets corrugated horn fabricated in the THz band. The method can be used to determine the fabrication tolerance needed for other THz corrugated horns and evaluate the impact of the corrugated horn for astronomical observations.