Development of a Ka-Band Non-Regular Multibeam Coverage Antenna

Cala, Enrica; Baldelli, M.V.; Catalani, A.; Menargues, Esteban; Toso, Giovanni; Angeletti, Piero

doi:10.1109/tap.2022.3217890

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…4) Reconfigurable RF front-ends can add flexibility in redistributing power and bandwidth according to a predefined beam-hopping allocation scheme [13] or even to the real-time users' distribution over the geographical region of interest, thus minimizing the difference between the required and offered capacity values [14]. To equalize at best the required and offered capacities, nonregular coverage can also be implemented by tailoring the beam contours on the basis of the users' distribution in the coverage area [15]. All the aforementioned technical solutions ask for Multi-Beam Antennas (MBAs) and corresponding RF front-ends, which can generate a number of simultaneous independent beams.…”

Section: Current Trends In Rf Front-ends For Communication Satellitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For a given mission scenario, the specific advantages and disadvantages of the MBA solutions with the associated frontends have to be carefully traded-off in terms of performances (e.g., directivity, C/I, system capacity), power requirements, hardware complexity, reliability, redundancy, reconfigurability, accommodation (i.e., mass, envelope, number and size of reflectors), and costs. The comparison among different MBAs for some relevant mission scenarios are reported in [9], [14], [15]. As an example, Viasat-3, a global system comprising three GEO satellites and expected to be launched early 2023, is anticipated to deliver at least 1 Tbps per satellite, each with a coverage having more than 2000 beams (Fig.…”

Section: Current Trends In Rf Front-ends For Communication Satellitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both these properties can be improved by optimizing the process parameters, such as the beam offset and the scaling factors that accounts for the melt pool geometry and the material shrinkage during laser melting, and by properly orienting the part in the building chamber [31], [39]. Additional post-processing can be applied to improve the surface quality of the as-built parts, including shot-peening, chemical/dry etching, or coating [15], [30].…”

Section: Comparison Among Standard Machining and 3d-priting Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…AM technologies may represent a real breakthrough in the area of space RF payloads, if complex and large RF front-ends can be printed in a single mechanical part. In this respect, the Authors in [15] have successfully 3D-printed a significant demonstrator for implementing a non-regular coverage of Europe. The coverage asks for 70 non-uniform beams, each one being generated by a set of feed-horns connected to a dedicated sub-BFN.…”

Section: Complex Rf Front-endsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How 3D-Printing Is Changing RF Front-End Design for Space Applications

et al. 2023

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3D-printing is leading to a major transformation in many industrial and application sectors, ranging from medical to aerospace. In the space sector, 3D-printing has firstly been adopted for the development of structural and thermal parts, such as brackets and heat pipes. In more recent years, thanks to improvements in precision and surface roughness, 3D-printing technologies have steadily been investigated also for the development of radio frequency components and advanced payloads. Indeed, the unique features of 3D-printing, including the free-form capability and the ease for customization, make these manufacturing technologies very appealing in the development of complex radio-frequency front-ends for space applications, including New Space constellations and next generation software-defined communication satellites. They also enable a drastic simplification of mechanical designs by reducing the number of interfaces and assembling screws of large radio-frequency front-ends, thus leading to significant mass savings and higher integration. This paper briefly reports on recent advances in 3D-printing that have been carried out according to the current trends in radio-frequency front-ends for satellite communications.

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Section: Current Trends In Rf Front-ends For Communication Satellitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Current Trends In Rf Front-ends For Communication Satellitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparison Among Standard Machining and 3d-priting Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Complex Rf Front-endsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How 3D-Printing Is Changing RF Front-End Design for Space Applications

et al. 2023

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“…For example, for low and medium orbit satellites, the scanning requirements can reach ±60 • [5]. Array antennas are a widely used solution due to their high gain and scanning agility [6], [7]. However, as the wavelength shortens, the feeding networks of these antennas become complex, lossy, and expensive [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-Profile Fully Metallic Multiple-Ridge Luneburg Lens Antenna

Djounidi,

Castillo-Tapia,

Fonseca

et al. 2024

IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat.

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The geodesic Luneburg lens has been revisited as a suitable solution for some applications requiring directive beams in the millimetre wave band. Among its advantages, its rotational symmetry and high efficiency stand out. However, one of its drawbacks is the need for a certain height to produce the desired focusing properties of the lens. Here, we propose a low-profile solution based on rotationally-symmetric ridges that mimic, similarly to geodesic lenses, the effective refractive index of a Luneburg lens. Moreover, we show that both rectangular and trapezoidal ridges perform similarly, opening the possibility for other manufacturing techniques. We demonstrate this concept with a prototype that is fully-metallic and provides a scanning range of ±62 • over a broad band of operation, from 24 GHz to 34 GHz. In this prototype, the height of the lens is 18 times more compact than the original Rinehart-Luneburg lens, allowing the lens to be vertically stacked, which is beneficial, for example, for producing linear arrays. This technique could be used to produce other type of lenses.

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