Dual S- and X-Band Shared Aperture Antenna for Nano-Satellite Applications

This paper presents a dual S- and X-band antenna structure and gives a detailed performance evaluation of the antenna design. The main benefit of the presented antenna is its high frequency-ratio and its low cross-coupling. The antenna measures 82×82mm and has a total thickness of 5.65mm. The antenna is fabricated using Rogers-RT5870 substrate material. The small footprint of the presented antenna makes it very suited for nano-satellite applications. The desired S-band frequency range is from 2.00 to 2.12GHz. The desired X-band frequency range is from 8.2 to 9.0GHz. The Fabricated antenna prototype is measured to have a sufficient impedance bandwidth and a low axial ratio. The cross-coupling is both simulated and measured to be below -40dB in the desired frequency range. The antenna has a realized right hand circularly polarized gain of more than 6.0dBi and more than 12.0dBi in the desired frequency ranges of the S-band and X-band, respectively.