High-gain patch antenna for cubesat-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast application

Abstract

A multilayer patch antenna with high gain when operating in the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) band is designed for cubesat application. The antenna comprising a slotted-patch radiator, a defected ground, and dual reflectors has a compact size of 80 × 80 × 8.76 mm3 for suitably placing into a cubesat. By properly embedding slots into the patch elements of the antenna, directional radiation pattern with gain of 6.98 dBi at 1.090 GHz and an impedance bandwidth of 17 MHz (1.087-1.104 GHz) can be achieved for the ADS-B signal receiving. Validation is done by fabrication and measurement of the antenna prototype and shows good agreement between simulation and measurement.