Digital beamforming antenna array with polarisation multiplexing for mobile high-speed satellite terminals at Ka-band

The Journal of Engineering

Arne F. Jacob¹  Alexander Geise²  Benjamin Rohrdantz³  Alexander Stark⁴  Karsten Kuhlmann⁵ 

[1] Test Services, 82024 Taufkirchen, Germany;Airbus Defense and Space GmbH, Compact Range &Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik, Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg, 21073 Hamburg, Germany;OHB System AG, 28359 Bremen, Germany;Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Hochfrequenzmesstechnik, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany

关键词: planar antenna array terminal;    advanced frontend packaging;    four-colour spot beam;    mobile high-speed satellite terminals;    grating lobes;    high-throughput satellites;    aeronautical applications;    mobile platform;    large scanning range;    receiver array;    dual polarisation;    mobile satellite communications;    inter-element decoupling;    frequency 20 GHz;    frequency 30 GHz;    beam scanning;    polarisation multiplexing;    transmitter array;    Earth station;    post-processing capabilities;    digital beamforming antenna array;    Ka-b;   

DOI  :  10.1049/joe.2015.0163

学科分类：工程和技术（综合）

来源: IET

【 摘 要 】

In this contribution, a planar antenna array terminal for mobile satellite communications at Ka-band is proposed. This Earth station on mobile platform uses separate transmit and receive apertures to obtain a flat design well suited for aeronautical applications. Digital beamforming is applied for fast beam scanning, tracking, and enhanced post-processing capabilities. The active antenna elements exhibit dual polarisation to comply with a four-colour spot beam arrangement commonly used by high-throughput satellites. Advanced frontend packaging concepts for a high integration density enable half wavelength element spacing. This prevents grating lobes and yields a large scanning range. A modular approach allows to flexibly adapt the array size to the application specific needs. An 8 × 8 receiver (Rx) array at 20 GHz and a 16 × 3 transmitter array at 30 GHz are demonstrated. The measured results obtained in conjunction with inter-element decoupling validate the approach. The principal suitability of the Rx array for the intended application is tested in a field experiment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY