High Gain Antenna for SatCom Applications in Hybrid CNC-PCB Technologies at K/Ka Band
Résumé
This communication presents a high gain antenna covering the full frequency band from 17 to 31 GHz, suitable for satellite communications (SatCom) at K/Ka band. The radiating aperture is designed as a continuous transverse stub (CTS) array fed by a tapered corporate feed network (CFN) to reduce the sidelobe level (SLL) in the radiating plane orthogonal to the stubs/long slots. This part is done in printed circuit board technology (PCB) to ensure a very low profile (namely 11.5 mm, or equivalently 1.2 λ0, where λ0 is the free space wavelength at 31 GHz). Moreover, a pillbox coupler is used as a line source to illuminate the CFN. It consists of an integrated parabolic reflector illuminated by a displaceable H-plane horn in its focal plane. The pillbox coupler is realized in aluminum to reduce losses and fabricated by using computer numerically controlled (CNC) fabrication techniques. The total size of the antenna is 44.5×33.1×3.3λ03. The latter exhibits a minimum measured directivity of 34.6 dBi at 17 GHz. The antenna is able to steer its main beam along the slot plane to cover a field of view exceeding 45° in elevation by displacing the H-plane horn in the focal plane. © 2023 IEEE.
Mots clés
Communication application
Corporate feed network
Focal Plane
H-planes
High gain antennas
Ka band
Printed circuit board technology
Radiating aperture
Satellite communications
Satellite communication systems
Antenna arrays
Antenna feeders
Focusing
Horn antennas
Microwave antennas
Parabolic antennas
Printed circuit boards
Slot antennas
Array feeds