Techniques to maximize communication traffic capacity in multi-beam satellite active phased array antennas for non-uniform traffic model

In multibeam satellite applications with frequency and polarization reuse a main challenge is to serve a high-density communication traffic region on the ground without interfering with beams at the same frequency. If the antenna is implemented as an active phased array, the challenge increases even more when the aperture has uniform amplitude excitation, which may be required for deployed arrays for thermal and efficiency reasons. Also, when all the communication channels share the same elemental amplifiers, intermodulation interference needs to be kept under control. This paper discusses these problems, and presents techniques to improve communication traffic capacity.