Sheet Metal Waveguide Forming Technique,

A 330 element shunt slot array 30 db sidelobes, x-band was designed analytically and fabricated by a sheet metal waveguide forming technique. This technique starts with a ten mil copper sheet which is then photo-etched completely through for slots and half way through 5 mils for bend lines. Then this photo etched copper sheet is bent into waveguide with a couple of simple mandrels. The last procedure is to apply solder paste to the seams and heat in an oven. The analytical design process adjusts the slot length and offset of each slot while including the effect of external mutual coupling until the desired aperture distribution and impedance match are achieved. Tested results show that the cost effective sheet metal waveguide forming technique is a viable technique. Author