Magneto-electric dipole antenna as a transceive element in a phased array

We propose a transceive element of a phased array antenna for satellite communications systems operating in Ku frequency band. The proposed element based on a magneto-electric dipole antenna. A substrate-integrated waveguide and a cruciform slit of a special shape are used as a feeding element. We aim to drive the circular polarization at two sub-bands simultaneously. We performed electromagnetic simulations and optimization of the single element and applied array factor to evaluate beam steering, directivity and cross-polarization. The antenna elements were optimized using 8 criteria to obtain acceptable S-parameters and ellipticity. As a results, we obtain satisfactory cross-polarization for R_x-band of <–20 dB. For T_x-band we obtained value <–14.2 dB for oblique beam position and of –20.1 dB for normal beam position. The developed geometry meets the requirements of manufacturing on printed circuit boards. The results obtained indicate the prospects of using such broadband transceive elements in phased arrays.