Towards a broadband and squint-free Ku-band phased array antenna system for airborne satellite communications

In this paper, we describe the design and the development of a K_u-band phased array antenna system for the reception of a digital video broadcasting by satellite (DVB-S) signal. A concept of optical beamforming is implemented to provide a squint-free beam steering over the entire Ku-band (10.7-12.75 GHz) as well as to achieve seamless tunability of the beam pointing direction. The total antenna system is described and the system performance is simulated. Requirements for system components are formulated and the development of these components towards the implementation of the broadband, squint-free phased array antenna system is reported.