Angularly stable Artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) loaded circularly polarized antenna array and filter Co-Design for K-band satellite applications

Abstract

This paper investigates an angularly stable artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) loaded circularly polarized (CP) antenna array and filter co-design for the K-band satellite application. The AMC array is constructed from a periodic array of square metal patch unit cells with rectangular and annular slots. The AMC unit cell has good angular stability under various incidence angles and operates in a frequency range of 18 GHz to 21 GHz. The AMC-surrounded and bandpass filter (BPF) loaded antenna array is simulated and fabricated on the single side of a 0.508 mm thick Roger/5880 substrate. The impedance matching, gain, directivity, and efficiency (%) are enhanced due to the constructive interference between AMC and antenna mutual coupling. In contrast, the axial ratio (AR) is preserved. The manufacturing of the proposed structure is comparatively less complex. Finally, based on the simulation and measured results, the suggested AMC-loaded compact, wideband, and filter-inserted array with enhanced gain and efficiency can be a good choice for the 3U satellite application working in K-band.