L-band Planar Array Antenna with High Efficiency for DCS_VSAT Applications

In this paper, we describe the design of an L-band (1.5 GHz & 1.6 GHz, Rx & Tx band for GK3 DCS_VSAT) planar array antenna with high efficiency. The radiating element has a cross-slot structure with dual orthogonal feed to generate left hand circular polarization (LHCP). In addition, the overall array antenna consists of a 4x4 planar arrangement and has a uniform amplitude distribution in the same phase. Considering the directivity of the radiating element, the optimized array spacing in the horizontal and vertical directions is 157.5 mm (0.84λo), and a low-loss feeding network is designed using a shielded suspended strip line (SSSL). The measured antenna gain is greater than 20.0 dBi in the operating band, the axial ratio is less than 1.41 dB within the 3-dB beam-width, and the antenna efficiency is more than 92%.