Experimental results on multi-beam receiving antenna for satellite broadcasting

Satellite broadcasting services are currently provided in Japan using four orbital positions, one operates in the BSS band (11.7 to 12.2 GHz) and the other operates in the FSS band (12.2 to 12.75 GHz). A number of satellites located in different orbital positions will be provided in the future. A commonly used dish antenna can receive signals from only one satellite at a time. A multihorn-feed reflector antenna can receive signals simultaneously from several satellites in different orbital positions, but the number of satellites may be limited by the arrangement of the feed horns. A multi-beam phased-array antenna can receive signals simultaneously from a great number of satellites in different orbital positions. This paper describes the fundamental design of a multi-beam receiving antenna and measured results of an experimental model.