TY - JOUR
T1 - An all-metal high-gain radial-line slot-array antenna for low-cost satellite communication systems
AU - Koli, Mst Nishat Yasmin
AU - Afzal, Muhammad U.
AU - Esselle, Karu P.
AU - Hashmi, Raheel M.
N1 - Copyright the Author(s). Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - This article presents a method to produce a highly directive circularly
polarized radiation beam (gain>35 dBi) from an all-metal circularly
polarized radial-line slot array (RLSA) antenna. The antenna comprises a
single-layer radial TEM waveguide, fully filled with air, formed
between a metal ground plate and a parallel metal slotted sheet, leading
to simple, low-cost fabrication. A prototype of the new antenna having a
diameter of 0.4 m or 27λ
0
, where λ
0
is the free-space wavelength at the operating frequency of 20 GHz, was
fabricated and tested. Its measured peak broadside directivity and
measured peak realized gain are 36.3 dBic and 35.9 dBic, respectively.
The total thickness of the antenna is only 6.5 mm or 0.43λ
0
. The aperture efficiency of the prototype is 56%, total efficiency is
95.4%, and measured 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth is 4.9 GHz (22.9%). The
antenna has excellent cross-polar rejection, with a measured cross-polar
level of -24.4 dB in the broadside direction. This antenna has been
targeted for low-cost SATCOM terminals and wireless backhauls but due to
the lack of dielectrics, it may also be useful for space and high-power
microwave applications.
AB - This article presents a method to produce a highly directive circularly
polarized radiation beam (gain>35 dBi) from an all-metal circularly
polarized radial-line slot array (RLSA) antenna. The antenna comprises a
single-layer radial TEM waveguide, fully filled with air, formed
between a metal ground plate and a parallel metal slotted sheet, leading
to simple, low-cost fabrication. A prototype of the new antenna having a
diameter of 0.4 m or 27λ
0
, where λ
0
is the free-space wavelength at the operating frequency of 20 GHz, was
fabricated and tested. Its measured peak broadside directivity and
measured peak realized gain are 36.3 dBic and 35.9 dBic, respectively.
The total thickness of the antenna is only 6.5 mm or 0.43λ
0
. The aperture efficiency of the prototype is 56%, total efficiency is
95.4%, and measured 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth is 4.9 GHz (22.9%). The
antenna has excellent cross-polar rejection, with a measured cross-polar
level of -24.4 dB in the broadside direction. This antenna has been
targeted for low-cost SATCOM terminals and wireless backhauls but due to
the lack of dielectrics, it may also be useful for space and high-power
microwave applications.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089570733&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3012787
DO - 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3012787
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85089570733
SN - 2169-3536
VL - 8
SP - 139422
EP - 139432
JO - IEEE Access
JF - IEEE Access
ER -