| Astrophysics (Index) | About |
A feedhorn (or feed horn) is a horn-shaped feature of a microwave telescope receiver (antenna) which contributes to the receiver's directionality and efficiency. It is a type of horn antenna (antenna incorporating a horn-shaped waveguide for the sent/received signal), the word "feed" used when the antenna serves as the receiver, such as for a microwave reflector telescope. The term feedhorn array is used for a focal plane array consisting of feedhorn receivers; while a single feedhorn might be on the order of a foot or meter in size, feedhorn arrays can have them with tiny feedhorns, on the order of a cm or less.