Circularly Polarized Meshed Patch Antenna for Small Satellite Application

A circularly polarized meshed patch antenna design is presented. The proposed antenna consists of two square meshed patches, which generate two orthogonal linear polarizations at two slightly different frequencies. A common proximity feedline is utilized to excite the two patches, and a 90
^°
phase difference can be achieved between the two resonant frequencies, which is needed for circular polarization. The overall structure of this antenna is highly compatible with solar panels; thus, it is of great significance for small satellite applications. The measured results of the antenna prototype show that it has a 3-dB axial-ratio (AR) bandwidth of 15 MHz, a 10-dB impedance bandwidth of 2%, and a gain of 5.15 dB at its center frequency 2.47 GHz.