Compact Dual-Band Circularly Polarized Shared-Aperture Antenna for Satellite Communication Systems

Abstract

A compact dual-band circularly polarized (CP) shared-aperture antenna is proposed for satellite communication. The antenna enables simultaneous dual-band functionality and CP radiation with right-handed CP in the Ku band and left-handed CP (LHCP) in the Ka band. The shared-aperture is implemented by integrating two independent subapertures, which function through frequency-multiplexed, resulting in a minimized profile (0.04${\lambda }_0$) and reduced complexity, making it an ideal choice for array applications. To enhance inter-frequency isolation, a circular arrangement of metal vias is incorporated. The measured results indicate that the antenna effectively encompasses a 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 15.6–16.5 GHz in Ku and 26.5–27.5 GHz in Ka bands. Additionally, it exhibits a broader 10 dB impedance bandwidth (IBW) and superior port isolation bandwidth exceeding 30 dB.

Keywords:

• Circular polarized
• dual-band
• frequency ratio
• high isolation
• low profile
• shared-aperture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants [62001232], [62001227] and [61971224].

Notes on contributors

Wei Wang

Wei Wang was born in Hegang, China. She received her BS degree from the Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China, in 2022. Currently, she is pursuing her MS degree in electronic science and technology. Her current area of research focuses on antennas and RF front-end content. Email: [email protected]

Zhiwei He

Zhiwei He was born in Xuancheng, China. He received his BS degree from the Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China in 2021. Currently, he has just received his MS degree in electronic science and technology. His current research interests include RF T/R modules and antenna. Email: [email protected]

Jie Cui

Jie Cui received a BS degree from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, in 2010 and PhD in microelectronics and solid-state electronics from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, in 2016, since then, he joined the school of electronic and optical engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology. From 2014 to 2016, he is a visiting scholar at Purdue University. His main research interests include RF and mm-wave circuits and system design. Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Weixing Sheng

Weixing Sheng was born in 1966. He received a BS degree from Shanghai Jiaotong University, China, in 1988. He received his MS degree in the department of communication and information systems in 1991 and his PhD degree in the department of electromagnetic field and electromagnetic waves in 2002 from the Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China. He is now a professor and a member of the Chinese Institute of Electronics. His current research interests include radar systems and applications of electromagnetic scattering and image processing. Email: [email protected]