Ultra-Low Cost Ku-Band Dual-Polarized Transmit and Receive Phased-Arrays for SATCOM and Point-to-Point Applications with Bandwidths up to 750 MHz

Abstract

This paper presents ultra-low cost scalable 64-element dual-polarized Ku-band transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) phased-arrays. The antenna elements are placed in a rectangular grid spaced at λ/2 apart at 14.5 GHz (Tx array) and 12 GHz (Rx array), and employ 16 silicon Tx- and Rx-only 8-channel beamformer chips to feed 2×2 dual-polarized antenna quads. The phased-arrays are assembled on a 4-layer printed circuit board (PCB) using only two Roger 4350B panels, mechanical drilled vias and simple fabrication, thus the ultra-low-cost designation. Both 64-element phased-arrays result in a scan range of $\pm 60^{\mathrm{o}}$ in the E-and H-planes with low sidelobes $< -15\ \mathrm{dB}$. The Rx phased-array has a 3-dB bandwidth of 650 MHz (11.4 - 12.05 GHz) and a cross-polarization level of $< -18\ \mathrm{dB}$. The Tx phased-array results in a measured EIRP of 48.7 dBm and 50.6 dBm at P1dB and Psat, respectively, per polarization, a 3-dB bandwidth of 750 MHz (13.75 -14.5 GHz), and low cross-polarization of −20.5 dB. To our knowledge, these Ku-band phased-arrays demonstrate state-of-the-art performance with ultra-low-cost for satellite communications or point-to-point communication systems.