A Flat-Panel 8 × 8 Wideband K-/Ka-Band Dual Circularly Polarized Phased Array Antenna for CubeSat Communications

Abstract

A novel flat-panel 8×8 wideband dual circularly polarized electronically-scanned phased array antenna is proposed, which covers the satellite communications bands of 22.55–23.55 GHz and 25.5–27.5 GHz. A circularly polarized stacked microstrip patch antenna is used as the element radiator with a structural modification on the parasitic patch to minimize gain variation. Since the axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of the element radiator is inherently narrow, sequential rotation is employed to yield a wide AR bandwidth while forming the 2×2 subarray, which is then used as a building block to construct the larger 8×8 phased array. The phased array has a simulated scan range of ±51°, ±46° and ±36° at 23 GHz, 24 GHz and 26.5 GHz, respectively, assuming ≤3-dB scan loss and AR. A beamforming network (BFN) is integrated within the stackup of the phased array that comprises a commercially available silicon beamforming chip. This facilitates beam steering through the independent control of the input amplitudes and phases of the individual element radiators. The practical effects of the BFN on the scanning performance of the 8×8 phased array is studied, which is found to slightly degrade the scan ranges. Finally, experiments were performed on the fabricated prototype, and the measured scan data showed good correspondence with their simulated counterparts with >41° and 35° scan ranges (in +θ direction) at 24 GHz and 26.5 GHz, respectively. The corresponding EIRp and G/T of the 8×8 phased array are also estimated through measurements.