Design of an Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) Monopole Antenna with Modified Ground Plane

In this paper, a monopole antenna with modified ground plane is presented for Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) application. The ADS-B technology is used to determine the location of moving aircraft through satellite navigation. The vital information of the aircraft is periodically broadcasted at a frequency of 1090 MHz (operating band starting from 982 MHz to 1262 MHz) and this ADS-B data is available at the ground/air receiver at the same frequency. In this design, a can-monopole antenna with an improved ground plane is proposed to receive ADS-B signal. In this antenna the monopole and the ground plane are made using aluminum and copper materials respectively. The antenna simulation has been done using Computer Simulation Technology- Microwave Studio (CST-MS) software and the essential parameters are recorded. The signals received from the aircraft are decoded using Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Plane Plotter software. The comparison has been done by keeping the antenna system at the different location and studying the change in amount of aircrafts detected within the range.