Circularly polarized aperture coupled stacked patch antenna element for Ka-band

This paper presents the design and implementation of a circularly polarized stacked patch antenna element for Ka-band applications. The printed element has been developed to be used in a LEO satellite antenna array. Two circular stacked patches, with air gaps, are placed inside a circular cavity. A suspended stripline is used to feed the patches through a cross slot cut in the bottom of the cavity. Broadband input impedance, radiation pattern and axial ratio characteristics have been obtained. The numerical simulations have been validated with experimental results.