Variable Inclination Continuous Transverse Stub Array-Based Beam Steering Antenna System for Vehicle-to-Satellite Communication

A Ku-band variable inclination continuous transverse stub (VICTS) antenna system for vehicle-to-satellite communication is designed with high gain and low sidelobe level (SLL). Taylor distribution is used to determine the radiation power for each slot by extracting the admittance of each slot to achieve a low SLL. The antenna system contains the VICTS antenna and the servo control system. The servo control system is used to rotate the feeding and radiating plates of the VICTS antenna to realize beam steering. The feeding plate is placed underneath the radiating plate for a compact size. For verifying the concept, the antenna system is prototyped and measured. The measured results show that within 13.75-14.5 GHz, the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is below 1.4. A large beam scanning range of 7° ~ 64° or −7° − −64° in elevation and 360. in azimuth is achieved, with a maximum gain of 32.1 dBi. For all the scanning angles, the SLLs maintain lower than −16.5 dB.