A compact Ku-band transmit/receive low-profile antenna for broadband mobile satellite communications

This paper presents the design of a planar array antenna for Ku-band mobile satellite communications systems. The antenna takes advantage of the complete available aperture surface for both transmit and receive functions and allow simultaneous transmit and receive operations. The antenna is low-profile and is suitable for integration in vehicles and small aircrafts. The steering approach is hybrid, with mechanical rotation for the azimuth scan and electronic control for the elevation and polarisation angles. The paper focuses on the main aspects of the implemented structure and the preliminary results of sub-arrays.