Design of an Ultrawideband Circularly Polarized Printed Crossed-Dipole Antenna Based on Genetic Algorithms for S-Band CubeSat Applications

Jorge Simon,Jorge Sosa-Pedroza,Hugo Perez-Guerrero,Fabiola Martínez-Zúñiga,Juvenal Villanueva-Maldonado,Marco Cardenas-Juarez,Jorge Flores-Troncoso,Claudio Gennarelli

doi:10.1155/2021/8733427

Abstract

As in any satellite, onboard antennas for CubeSats are crucial to establish communication with ground stations or other satellites. According to its application, antennas must comply with standardized requirements related to size, bandwidth, operating frequency, polarization, and gain. This paper presents an ultrawideband circularly polarized two-layer crossed-dipole microstrip antenna for S-band CubeSat applications using genetic algorithms optimization tools included in the 3D electromagnetic simulation software Ansys HFSS. The antenna is constructed on a 10 × 10 cm Cuclad-250 substrate with a back copper flat plane, located at λ/4 at 2.25 GHz operating frequency. The backplane with the exact substrate dimensions improves gain and reduces inside satellite radiation. Measured bandwidth defined by S11 at a −10 dB was higher than 1835 MHz with S11 = −24.68 dB at the central frequency of 2.25 GHz, while measured VSWR at the same frequency was 1.124. At 2.25 GHz, the maximum measured gain and the minimum measured axial ratio in the broadside direction were found to be 6 dBi and 0.22 dB, respectively. There are antenna simulations and measurements, as long as its fabrication guarantees application requirements that make it ready for prespace testing.

Highlights

According to mass and size, CubeSat belongs to a satellite classification called nanosatellites, which follow the standard proposed in 1999 by Jordi Puig-Sauri from CalPoly San Luis Obispo and Bob Twiggs from Stanford University to enable access to space for university students
An optimized design of a ultrawideband circularly polarized printed crossed-dipole antenna (UCPCA) using the optimization tools based on genetic algorithms included in the 3D electromagnetic simulation software Ansys HFSS for applications on CubeSat small satellites is presented
E genetic algorithm method was focused on Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) and axial ratio, and it was used for optimizing the antenna geometry before fabrication and measurements. e proposed antenna showed acceptable values for reflection coefficient (S11), VSWR, and axial ratio

Summary

Introduction

According to mass and size, CubeSat belongs to a satellite classification called nanosatellites, which follow the standard proposed in 1999 by Jordi Puig-Sauri from CalPoly San Luis Obispo and Bob Twiggs from Stanford University to enable access to space for university students. E CubeSat standard simplifies frequent and affordable access to space for many applications. CubeSat design protocol specifies a maximum mass of 1.3 kg and maximum outer dimensions of 10 cm per side for a one-unit (1 U) version, 2 U or 3 U or bigger versions are acceptable. Like any other wireless telecommunication system, CubeSat includes an antenna that must comply with standard requirements as weight, size, compactness, operating frequency, linear or circular polarization, impedance matching, bandwidth, and gain. E S, C, and X band antennas must be designed to comply with the dimensions to fit on the 10 × 10 cm area of a CubeSat side face and with a gain of around 10 dBi. us, planar structures are well-suited for CubeSats antennas, as those presented in Table 1 for S-band frequencies.

Methods

Results

Conclusion