An Ultra Wide C-Band Compact Range Feed

Compact antenna test ranges are used for fast, precise and real time measurement of antenna and payload parameters. ISRO has established a Compact range at Bangalore and has a rich experience of characterizing more than 33 satellites and 200 subsystem level antennas over wide frequency range from 1-40 GHz. The standard set of compact range feeds comprises 7 dual linear polarized and 2 single linear polarized feeds in the range of 1-40 GHz. In case of satellites with payloads in lower C, Nor C and Upper ext. C-band, 3 compact range feeds should be used for performing payload characterization which consumes considerable test set up time. In this view, an ultra-wide C-band (65% Bandwidth) is designed covering the above mentioned frequency bands. In this paper, design methodology and simulation results of the proposed feed are presented.