Dual-Band Single-Layered Linear-to-Dual-Circular Polarization Converter With High Angle Stability for Satellite Communication
Yicong Chen, Guohua Zhai, Shuobo Wang, Jianjun Gao, Jishan Ren
Abstract
A dual-band linear-to-dual-circular polarization (LDCP) converter is an excellent candidate for satellite communication (SatCom). However, the dual-band high-angle-stability LDCP converter based on the single-layered substrate is seldom reported in the published literature. In this letter, a dual-band single-layered LDCP converter with high angle stability is proposed for <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">K</i> -/ <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Ka</i> -band SatCom. The unit cell is composed of nonresonant meander lines and strips with an identical shape printed on both sides of a substrate. It permits high-efficiency transformation from linear polarized wave to orthogonal circular polarized waves at the operating bands. Meanwhile, the equivalent circuit models are analyzed to characterize the operation behaviors. The meander lines geometrically compress the cell size to be 0.17 × 0.19λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">0</sub> <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> and realize a high angle stability of ±45°. The converter experimentally shows 3 dB AR bandwidths of 21.8% and 12.6% in the lower and upper bands, respectively, well covering the two operating bands of <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">K</i> -/ <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Ka</i> -band SatCom.