A Circularly Polarized Low-Cost Flat Panel Antenna Array With a High Impedance Surface Meta-Substrate for Satellite On-the-Move Medical IoT Applications

A 1 ×3 linear antenna array consisting of Quad-Arm Curl antenna with a High impedance surface (QACH) is presented. We believe that it is the first linear phased array solution which can provide 360° azimuth coverage. This array has been designed to operate at the L-band (1.518-1.675 GHz) and generate right-hand circularly polarized radiation to primarily target the Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) satellite constellation. The metamaterial structure integrated into each antenna element allows a low-profile height of 17.2 mm ( λ
_1.597
/10.9). Since the curl element has wideband characteristics, the array is able to provide shared aperture functionality. The array guarantees high-gain beam steering for low elevation angles (up to θ = 70
^°
from the zenith) with an average gain of 7.96 dBic at θ = 70
^°
. In comparison, to achieve an equivalent high gain a conventional 4 × 5 patch array would be required (three elements versus 20 elements). This means that the proposed array requires 80% fewer phase shifters, amplifiers, and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs). This translates to a crucial commercial advantage in relation to the manufacturing cost. This development can lead to disruption of the existing Satcom market by lowering the barrier-to-entry for customers looking for a mass deployable, low-cost Internet of Things (IoT) on Satcom solution.