LOW PROFILE ACTIVE SCANNING ANTENNA ARRAY DEMONSTRATOR (DFM.AD001.180)

Thematic area

Physical sciences and technologies of matter

Project area

Structure responsible for the research project

Institute for microelectronics and microsystems (IMM)

Project manager

ROMEO BECCHERELLI
Phone number: 0649934538
Email: romeo.beccherelli@artov.imm.cnr.it

Abstract

There is a commercial strong interest in developing reconfigurable antenna completely electronic with limited thickness, large field of view and limited overall power consumption. This is difficult and expensive to develop with current conventional technologies. In the last years several technologies have been showing promising results to improve on this. Using liquid crystal technology as reconfigurable phase shifters is one possible, promising example. Polarisers and reflect-array antennas based on this technology have been successfully demonstrated at frequency around 100 GHz in the framework of a recent ESA TRP activity. Other promising activities have been running in Europe where liquid crystals as variable phase shifters have been demonstrated at around 30 GHz. Today new mixtures with significantly reduced insertion losses are under optimization and these materials start being competitive with other more conventional technologies (like pin or varactor diodes). The activity will include the following tasks: Identification of the most promising technology and concepts; Design of innovative Tx/Rx antenna solutions; Manufacturing and testing of a limited breadboard.

Goals

The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test an antenna breadboard representative of a low profile, actively scanning transmit-receive Satellite User Terminal full size antenna.
Targeted Improvements: The activity targets the demonstration of new ground segment antenna concept utilizing novel, low cost steering technology with low power consumption.

Start date of activity

27/09/2017

Keywords

ANTENNA, metasuperficie, cristalli liquidi

Last update: 19/04/2024