Abstract
In this letter, a concept of a high-gain circularly polarized X-band antenna employing a partially reflecting surface (PRS) has been presented. In the initial antenna analysis, the influence of parasitic element size in the PRS structure on antenna radiation pattern parameters has been investigated and the optimal arrangement of the elements has been identified. The proposed antenna provides a wide bandwidth of return loss above 10 dB of 20% (8–9.8 GHz) and circular polarization (CP) in a frequency range 8.35–8.95 GHz. The final design is compact (62 × 62 × 22.2 mm) and lightweight (29.7 g), which makes it suitable for use not only in CubeSat X-band communication systems but also in drones and high-altitude pseudosatellite applications.
Highlights
Long range communication between such objects as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS) or satellite platforms and ground stations can be a complementary way for terrestrial infrastructure of wireless sensor networks especially when one is interested in monitoring large areas, e.g. in smart farming applications [1]-[4]
An interesting solution is a transformation of polarization from linearly polarized (LP) excitation source to circular polarization (CP) in Fabry-Perot Cavity (FPC) antenna, utilizing a high impedance surface (HIS) which allows for independent control of reflection and transmission field components inside the cavity [18]
The parameters of the proposed antenna with varied size of the parasitic patches (PPs) placed within the superstrate layer were compared with the results obtained for a reference design having PPs of the same size arranged in a 5 × 5
Summary
Long range communication between such objects as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS) or satellite platforms and ground stations can be a complementary way for terrestrial infrastructure of wireless sensor networks especially when one is interested in monitoring large areas, e.g. in smart farming applications [1]-[4] Such applications can provide huge surface coverage, especially when satellites operate within larger formations or constellations. An interesting solution is a transformation of polarization from LP excitation source to CP in Fabry-Perot Cavity (FPC) antenna, utilizing a high impedance surface (HIS) which allows for independent control of reflection and transmission field components inside the cavity [18] This approach suffers from difficulties in obtaining AR below 3 dB and return loss above 10 dB simultaneously in the wide common bandwidth. The antenna exhibits gain over 14 dBic and Axial Ratio (AR) less than 3 dB bandwidth of about 6%
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