Duration: 15 months
Smart connectivity at K/Ka band offers tremendous opportunities for very high-throughput Satcom on the move (SOTM) services. Flat, lightweight, low-cost, and energy-efficient user terminals with beam-steering capabilities over a wide field of view are critically needed for LEO constellations. But all current solutions use two antenna systems, one operating in Tx and one in Rx. Indeed, there is no market solution for an ultra-wideband antenna at K/Ka bands with a single shared aperture for Tx and Rx. Moreover, the USA dominate the world market, and there are no sovereign EU solutions offering such capabilities.
Planexus has developed a highly efficient, very low-profile metallic CTS (Continuous Transverse Stub) ultra-wideband antenna using a shared aperture and covering the entire 17.3 to 31 GHz frequency band, boasting a radiation efficiency of 94%, a gain of 39.5 dBi at 17.3 GHz and SLL < -22 dB [1]. Planexus has also proposed Printed Circuit Board (PCB) solutions based on patented contact-less PCB [2] with outstanding performance in terms of bandwidth and field of view [3]. However, vacuum-based systems present unparalleled efficiency performance with outstanding G/T parameters to exploit different frequency ranges and constellations. Compared to the state-of-the-art, this antenna system represents a technological leap forward.
We aim to design and develop a lightweight, low-cost version of this high-performance antenna using metallized plastic instead of metal. The goal is a mass reduction of over 70%, thereby revolutionizing the K/Ka band Satcom low-cost terminal market.
The project will explore innovative designs using a CTS antenna and a quasi-optical beamformer in metallized plastic, select the highest-performing materials (plastic and metal coating), and develop the most cost-effective manufacturing technology. The work will target 100% European design and manufacturing of the antennas. The project will increase the TRL of the technology from 2 to 4.
