An Ultra-thin Wide-Angle Scanned Planar Array Antenna For Satellite Communication

The requirements of high data throughput nowadays for satellite communication are expediting for worldwide connectivity. The antenna features, such as low profile and light weight are desirable for future satellite systems. In this paper, we propose a novel ultra-thin and easy-fabricated scanned array antenna operating in X band from 10.7 GHz to 12.7 GHz with $\mathrm {S}11 \lt -10$ dB. The antenna array offers advantage with beam steering capability of nearly $\pm 60 ^{0}$ degree without utilizing any costly phase shifter. This is achieved by rotating the relative position of the upper radiated layer regarding the bottom feeding layer. The total height of this array antenna is about $0.23 \lambda _{highest}$ and the radiation efficiencies are all above 60% during the whole scanning range.