Dual-Band Dually-Polarized Compact Folded-Shorted Patch Array for Small Satellites

A dual-band, folded-shorted patch (FSP) antenna array is presented for CubeSats like microsatellites and picosatellites. The adopted folding and shorting technique for the individual patch elements, allows for size reduction of the conventional quarter-wavelength shorted patch. Also, to further miniaturize the array, the single-element FSPs are realized with meandering on the top-layer. These design approaches result in a compact array with a total size of 5 × 5 cm
²
considering a 2 × 2 arrangement. This structure also offers dual-circularly polarized (DCP) radiation which is made possible by an eight-port feeding configuration for the array (i.e. two ports for each element). Given the dual-band nature of the individual FSPs, which is not typically exploited, the developed array is made operational for 1.1 GHz and 2.1 GHz. These features can simultaneously allow for downlink and uplink communications and/or satellite-to-satellite data links at L-band and S-band frequencies, while also, not consuming excessive area on the satellite itself. This is because the proposed 2 × 2 array can support these multiple transmitting and receiving functions, with a single antenna array structure for example, whilst leaving space on the CubeSat itself for other devices, sensors, solar panels, and deployable systems.