A Scalable Ka-Band 1024-Element Transmit Dual-Circularly-Polarized Planar Phased Array for SATCOM Application

Abstract

This paper presents a scalable 1024-element transmit dual-circularly-polarized phased array for Ka-band satellite communication (SATCOM) terminal applications. The transmit array based on the CMOS beamformer and a multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) can steer up to large scan angles (±60°) with a scan loss less than 4.5 dB. With the 8-channel transmit beamformer, the array can realize dual circular polarization and the axial ratio (AR) of the array is less than 3 dB in the scanning range of ±30° in both left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) and right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) mode. The effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of the array achieves 74 dBm from 29.5 GHz to 30 GHz. The design and measurement of the 1024-element transmit array have presented a feasible way for mass production of a low cost active phased array.

Keywords

• Ka-band
• SATCOM
• phased array
• flat panel antenna
• CMOS
• dual-circularly-polarized