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

ABSTRACT A dual‐polarized and beam switchable patch antenna array, which works well along the entire Ku‐band (10.6–12.7 GHz) 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 interelement 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 reception antenna. In this article, the configuration of an experimental 1 × 4 array and its measured S‐parameters and radiation characteristics will be given. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:2656–2659, 2014