Multifunctional Drone-Based Antenna for Satellite Communication

This communication presents a drone-to-satellite beam-forming antenna with multifunctional purposes. A glass material with a gradient coating configuration is exploited to realize a transparent structure. Beam tilting is obtained by controlling the phase distribution of an antenna by means of an inexpensive and passive surface. Simultaneously, solar cells are implemented on the proposed structure for solar energy harvesting using the transparency feature of the surface. The sputtering physical vapor deposition process is used to layer a thin coat of indium tin oxide (ITO) onto the glass. A conceptual beam tilting with a multipurpose design is introduced for drone2sat communication and energy harvest. The proposed communication structure works at a frequency of 3 GHz and covers a 60° spatial beamwidth. The directivity and propagation characteristics are preserved by this configuration. To validate the design performance, a prototype has been fabricated and a satisfactory agreement between the numerical results and experimental ones is achieved. The proposed structure can enhance the multifunctional designs, which could offer advantages for real-world space drone communications.