Quadrifilar helical antenna with integrated compact feed for TTC application in LEO satellites

Abstract

This paper presents design and development of Quadrifilar Helical Antenna(QHA) with integrated compact feed for Telemetry and Telecommand(TTC) application in LEO satellites with pattern/path loss compensation. A half height quadrifilar structure is fabricated on 20mil RT-Duriod substrate along with feed. All helix arms are excited with a microstrip line in progressive phase shift of 90 degree each to get the required circular polarization. Being single layer, the construction is simple and light weight. It is also rugged to withstand temperature, vibration and shocks. The simulation results of the antenna agree well with the measured results. The antenna ReturnLoss(RL) and Axial Ratio(AR) performance is good from 2.0 to 2.3GHz. It is proposed to use in LEO satellites.