Tripole Vector Antenna Design for GNSS Receiver Application

This letter presents the design, fabrication, and verification of a tripole vector antenna, which has immediate applications in multiantenna Global Navigation Satellite System receivers. The antenna can be used to estimate the direction of a circularly polarized unwanted signal coming from given elevation and azimuthal angles. The design comprises three orthogonal dipole antenna elements tuned at the L5 frequency of 1.17645 GHz while minimizing the cross-coupling between the elements. The geometry of the antenna assists in the resolution of the vector signal in analogous 3-D physical space. Therefore, signal processing can be used to resolve the actual 3-D direction of arrival of a signal, which can be used for decision by the processor onboard an aerial vehicle. A good match is identified between simulated parameters in the CST Studio Suite and measured parameters in the anechoic chamber using the multiantenna development board Xilinx ZC706 with the AD9361 RF front end.