Design and Development of Ultra-broadband circularly polarized X-band 8×8 array with multi-level sequential phase rotation useful for payload of Micro and Nano-satellite links

Abstract

This paper presents Design and Development of an ultra-broad band, X-band 8×8 printed array for satellite payload application in micro and nano-satellites. The antenna is a single layer printed design with sequential rotation of phase at three levels in a corporate-feed structure. It is printed on a 62mil RT-Duriod substrate. Being single layer, the construction is simple, light weight. It is also rugged and withstands temperature, vibration and shocks. The antenna is particularly useful for high-speed satellite data-links almost in excess of 500Mbps. The antenna VSWR performance is good from 7 to 9.2 GHz, while axial ratio is less than 2 dB for the same. Desired gain only limits it utility to ±1 GHz.