Self-Deployable Circularly Polarized Phased Yagi–Uda Antenna Array Using 3-D Printing Technology for CubeSat Applications
Dohyun Kim, Myeongha Hwang, Gyoungdeuk Kim, Sangkil Kim
Abstract
This letter proposes a self-deployable circularly polarized (CP) stacked Yagi–Uda phased antenna array operating at <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">C</i> -band (5.6–6.0 GHz). The proposed antenna system is composed of a 2×2 stacked CP Yagi–Uda antenna array and feeding networks consisting of a reflection-type phase shifter and a four-way Gysel power divider. The proposed phased antenna array is integrated into the top side of a 1U (10 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ \times $</tex-math></inline-formula> 10 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ \times $</tex-math></inline-formula> 10 cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> ) CubeSat via fully three-dimensional (3-D) printed self-deployable spring hinges and frame. The volume of the proposed antenna is reduced by 69% when folded, and the antenna deploys to the desired shape without any actuators or power. The designed reflection-type phase shifter has 0°–373° analog phase-shifting range and the four-way Gysel power divider feeds each of the 2 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ \times $</tex-math></inline-formula> 2 antenna array. The proposed self-deployable phased antenna array has 13.5 dBic left-handed circular polarized gain and +/−10° beam steering angle.