Dual Circularly Polarized Aperture Array Antenna in Gap Waveguide for High-Efficiency Ka-Band Satellite Communications

Abstract

A novel fully metallic Ka-band dual circularly polarized antenna array is presented in this contribution. It consists of 64 circular apertures (8×8) and it is implemented in gap waveguide technology. The antenna includes 4 layers, which are completely metallic, leading to a highly efficient performance. The experimental results confirm reflection coefficient values lower than −10 dB from 29 GHz to 31 GHz as well as stable radiation patterns throughout the whole frequency range. Good average axial ratio (AR) of 1.5 dB has been measured in the working band for both polarizations. Measured directivity is 28 dBi and antenna efficiency keeps close to 80%.

A Circularly Polarized Parallel Plate Waveguide Lens-Like Multiple-Beam Linear Array Antenna for Satcom Applications

“…The table shows that the proposed antenna is bulkier with respect to planar antennas, such as the SIW array presented in [39], but it exhibits much better performance in terms of efficiency. Compared to other fullmetal antennas, as the ones presented in [38] and [40], which are fixed-beam antennas, this contribution offers multi-beam capability. Moreover the proposed antenna exhibits a relative bandwidth of 8.85% in the scanning range, which is already wider than the one achieved in [38].…”

“…Compared to other fullmetal antennas, as the ones presented in [38] and [40], which are fixed-beam antennas, this contribution offers multi-beam capability. Moreover the proposed antenna exhibits a relative bandwidth of 8.85% in the scanning range, which is already wider than the one achieved in [38]. A fairer comparison can be made by considering only the central beams and in this case the relative bandwidth of the presented antenna is better than 20%.…”

Electronically Steerable Antennas for Future Heterogeneous Communication Networks: Review and Perspectives

“…Open-ended metallic waveguide antennas and their derivates are still widely used in electronically scanned arrays whose intended field of operation requires for highly stable, efficient, and broadband radiation performance, e.g., for the space segment. Although, additive fabrication technologies have recently spurred the development of waveguide-based antenna arrays [201], they are not very attractive for terrestrial applications, expect for mechanical tracking systems [202], [203], [204], due to their large dimensions, high fabrication costs, and complex electronic integration compared to planar antenna technologies. Nowadays, some of these limitations have been overcome by the substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) technology bridging the performance gap between planar and waveguide technologies [128].…”

Design and development of broadband gap waveguide‐based 0‐dB couplers for Ka‐band applications

“…There is a clear need to develop GWT that not only maintains the advantages of other technologies but also addresses the above mentioned fabrication and assembly challenges, especially at millimetre-wave frequency range. According to the review of literature, GWT has been used to design a wide range of microwave and highfrequency components, such as planar array antenna [18][19][20][21][22], filter [23][24][25][26], coupler [27][28][29][30], phase shifter [31,32] and switch [33,34].…”