Low-cost ku-band dual-polarized and beam switchable cross-type antenna array for satellite communications

International audienceA dual-polarized and beam switchable patch antenna array which works well along the entire Ku-band (10.6-12.7GHz) is introduced in this article. The proposed array is formed with cross-type antenna unit cell and fed by a balanced power division network with microstrip lines. By tuning the length of paths in the feeding network, phase differences taking place among units therefore beam-shifting could be obviously observed on the measured radiation patterns. It is worth while noting that, as patch sharing technique is used in the array arrangement, not only the inter-element distance is significantly decreased but also the beam-shifting angle is distinctly enlarged in the case of same phase-shifting. The proposed antenna can be easily fabricated on very low-cost Teflon substrate with Printing Circuit technology, which might be a good candidate for Direct Broadcast from Satellite (DBS) reception antenna. In this article, the configuration of an experimental 1x4 array and its measured S-parameters and radiation characteristics will be given