Receiving stacked patch array antenna for satellite mobile communications in L-band

Satellite mobile communications is a field of growing interest particularly in the L-band. Future communication-navigation services such as MSAT, IRIDIUM and INMARSAT-21 have chosen this band and have been added to the already available services as GPS, INMARSAT, etc. Microstrip patch antennas have been demonstrated to be an adequate radiating element due to many unique attractive features: compact in structure, light in weight, low in profile, conformable with host vehicle geometry, easy for reproduction and integrable with feeding networks and microwave devices, specially in MMIC technology. Specifically, the stacked patch configuration overcomes the inherent narrow bandwidth limitation of conventional single patches. The paper relates the design, building and characterization processes of a circular array antenna of six stacked microstrip patches with their corresponding LNAs (low noise amplifier) developed as the radiating system of an adaptive antenna for satellite mobile communications in the L-band. Simulated and experimental results of several design and performance parameters of the array antenna are presented.