Improved Low-Profile Helical Antenna Design for INMARSAT Applications

A new low-profile variable pitch angle cylindrical helical antenna employing a copper strip as impedance transformer is proposed in this paper. Under the circumstance of a limited antenna height, the circular polarization performance of the antenna has been enhanced by changing the pitch angle and t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shiqiang Fu, Yuan Cao, Yue Zhou, Shaojun Fang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:International Journal of Antennas and Propagation
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/829371
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Summary:A new low-profile variable pitch angle cylindrical helical antenna employing a copper strip as impedance transformer is proposed in this paper. Under the circumstance of a limited antenna height, the circular polarization performance of the antenna has been enhanced by changing the pitch angle and the input impedance matching has been improved by adjusting the copper strip match stub. The design method of the proposed antenna is given. The optimal antenna structure for INMARSAT application has been fabricated and measured. The measured results show that in the whole maritime satellite communication work band the VSWR is less than 1.2, its antenna gain is higher than 9 dBi, and the axial ratio is lower than 2.5 dB. The experimental results have a good agreement with the simulations. The proposed antenna is compact and easy tuning. It provides a promising antenna element for maritime satellite communication applications.
ISSN:1687-5869
1687-5877