Compact Planar Inverted-F Antenna for MicroSats Omnidirectional Communications

In this letter, a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) working at 401.8 MHz is optimized for microsatellites (MicroSats) omnidirectional communication and omnidirectional communication is achieved by antenna layout optimization. Some parameters of the antenna are analyzed for investigating the influences to the resonant frequency and the gain. The PIFA occupies a small volume of 85 × 85 × 31 mm
³
, which is 0.011
λ
× 0.011
λ
× 0.004
λ
and has a maximum gain of 5.37 dBi after optimized. An omnidirectional, highly isolated dual-antenna communication satellite receiving system is realized by layout optimization simulation analysis. The effectiveness of the antenna and the layout optimization is verified by comparison between simulation and experimental results. The antenna has potential applications in MicroSats omnidirectional communications as the antenna has a small size and it can be quickly redesigned and manufactured.