Wideband circularly polarized antenna with metallic walls for L-band applications

Abstract

Purpose

To achieve right-hand circular polarization (RHCP), a 3-dB Wilkinson power divider with a λ/4 phase shifter is used. The crossed-dipoles are placed at almost λ/4 elevation on the ground plane and connected to two coaxial cables. Experiments show that the impedance bandwidth of 49.40% (913.7–1,513.1 MHz) and axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) of 22.88% (1,145.8–1,441.8 MHz) are achieved.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a wideband crossed-dipole antenna with circularly polarized (CP) radiation for L-band satellite and radar applications is presented. The proposed CP antenna comprises two orthogonally placed printed dipoles, a quadrature coupler and a box-shaped ground plane.

Findings

Furthermore, by fixing the box-shaped ground plane under the radiators, 5.13 dBic RHCP peak gain at 1,300 MHz and maximum half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of 84.5° at 1,170 MHz are realized for the antenna.

Originality/value

Eight metallic walls are connected to four corners of the substrate to stabilize the radiation properties in this study. Results show that the ARBW and front-to-back ratio are improved and the maximum HPBW around 127° across the operating frequency band is achieved. The proposed CP antenna is a good candidate for Global Positioning System (GPS) L2 (1.227 GHz), GPS L5 (1.176 GHz) and air route surveillance radar system at 1,215–1,390 MHz frequency band.

Citation

Pourbagher, M., Ghobadi, C., Nourinia, J. and Naderali, R. (2022), "Wideband circularly polarized antenna with metallic walls for L-band applications", Circuit World, Vol. 48 No. 4, pp. 502-510. https://doi.org/10.1108/CW-10-2020-0271