Connection between microstrip circuits in transmitter and receiver of VSAT systems

For the purpose of downsizing and feeding power saving in the near future VSAT system, a new structure of microstrip circuits, installed so as to be faced each other on inner surfaces of a parallel metal plate housing, was proposed in which amplifier chips were bonded in one side of the microstrip circuit while phase shifters feeding a microstrip array antenna were embedded in another side. To miniaturize the circuit configuration, a technique to connect such microstrip circuits was devised in this paper. This connector consists of a coaxial cable vertically-connected between microstrip lines. Main emphasis was placed on suppression of unwanted radiation generated in the connection. Applying a simple matching element, small transmission loss of less than 1 dB as well as high return loss of larger than 20 dB was obtained in a bandwidth from 12 GHz to 15 GHz for the up and down links of the VSAT system.