Ultra-wideband, Wide Scanning Phased Array for SATCOM Ground Station

We present the unit cell of a linearly polarised, ultra-wideband (UWB), wide scanning array antenna based on the tightly-coupled dipole antenna (TCDA) concept for cost-effective Ku/Ka-band SATCOM ground station applications. The TCDA unit cell is fed by a coaxial structure and several vias are used to broaden the bandwidth. In addition, a superstrate, functioning as a wide angle impedance matching (WAIM) layer, is employed to achieve together with an E-wall to reduce surface-waves. The simulated results show that the proposed TCDA provide a large bandwidth from 10.6-27.8 GHz at VSWR $\leq 2.0$ at broadside radiation. Scanning angles up to 65° and 75° at the E- and H-plane, respectively, are maintained over the desired frequency of 12-1S GHz at VSWR $\leq 2.5$.