A HIGH RESOLUTION MBA FOR EHF COMMUNICATION SATELLITES

Abstract

Communication satellites currently operate at frequencies lower than 15 GHz. Future satellite communication systems will operate in the EHF band between 17 and 47 GHz, in order to realize increased bandwidth and antenna discrimination. Increased discrimination can be obtained with electrically large aperture antennas consisting of filled, or thinned arrays, or a multiple-beam antenna (MBA) using millimeter-wave optics. This paper describes a contemporary MBA and beam-switching network system capable of achieving high resolution and significant operational flexibility. The antenna can simultaneously provide narrow beams and medium-size beams directed to any point on the earth’s disc as seen from a geosynchronous satellite.