Single-Fed Dual-Circularly Polarized Stacked Dielectric Resonator Antenna for K/Ka-Band UAV Satellite Communications

A single-fed dual-band dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) with orthogonal circular polarizations (CPs) in K - and Ka -bands is proposed for satellite communications on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The antenna overcomes the challenges of dual-band dual-CP operation, narrow axial-ratio bandwidth (ARBW) of single-fed antennas, and limited payload and space of UAVs. A shared-aperture merged-structure technique of DRA and slot-dipole antenna is proposed for dual-band dual-CP radiation, thus enabling full-duplex operation with compact size for high isolation systems. The orthogonal CPs in two frequency bands can be controlled independently by a phase compensation method. Besides, broadened ARBW and enhanced gain are attained from the stacked DR, from which high capacity and reliability communication can be achieved. A prototype operating at right-handed CP (RHCP) in the lower band, whereas left-handed CP (LHCP) in the upper band has been designed and measured. It features 10-dB impedance bandwidths of 6.4% and 12.8%, and 3-dB ARBW of 5.2% and 4.1% in the lower and upper bands, respectively. The antenna provides a low cost solution for high isolation, high throughput, and small payload full-duplex UAV satellite systems.