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Journal Article
High-Gain Circularly Polarized Active Integrated Antenna Array for LEO Inter-Satellite Link Applications
- Authors
- Seong-Mo Moon, Seung-Soo Han, Dong-Pil Chang, Han Lim Lee
- Issue Date
- 2026-01
- Citation
- IEEE Access, v.14, pp.11476-11487
- ISSN
- 2169-3536
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Language
- English
- Type
- Journal Article
- Abstract
- In this paper, a high-gain circularly polarized (CP) antenna array is proposed for inter-satellite link (ISL) applications in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. The proposed CP antenna architecture enables high directivity while maintaining compatibility with beamforming integrated circuits (BFICs), making it a promising candidate for ISL payloads. Furthermore, the antenna design can be readily scaled to larger arrays by extending a 2×2 sub-array unit. Each sub-array consists of four multilayer antenna elements arranged in a sequentially rotated configuration, driven by a single 4-channel BFIC to realize robust CP radiation. The proposed structure adopts a low-profile air-gapped multilayer configuration to further enhance the CP gain, axial ratio (AR), and cross-polarization discrimination (XPD). To validate the performance of the active integrated antenna, a 4×4 left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) array was implemented with four 4-channel BFICs and tested within the 26.7–27.5 GHz ISL frequency band. The measured 10-dB impedance bandwidth of the fabricated 4×4 array were 6.3%. Additionally, normalized pattern confirmed stable CP with an XPD level achieved at a minimum of 33 dB at 27 GHz.
- Keyword
- Circularly-polarized antenna array, flat-panel antenna array, high-gain antenna, LEO satellite communications, inter-satellite links
- KSP Keywords
- 5 GHz, Active integrated antenna(AIA), Antenna design, Axial Ratio, Cross polarization(CP), Cross-polarization Discrimination(XPD), High Gain Antenna(HGA), High directivity, Impedance Bandwidth, Inter-satellite Links(ISLs), Left-hand circular polarization(LHCP)
This work is distributed under the term of Creative Commons License (CCL)
(CC BY)
(CC BY)
