International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 30-November 02, 1995 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada / The use of low windload FLAPS™ antennas in telemetry tracking systems yields sizable savings in system cost due to the reduced requirements imposed on the pedestal assembly and on the underlying support structure. Traditionally the use of these antennas has been limited to applications in which frequency bandwidths did not exceed 10-13%. This paper describes a variation of the FLAPS™ technology which allows operation over bandwidths in excess of 35% and makes it usable in broadband systems. Two new applications are feasible: one for a ground based telemetry system operating in the 1435-1850 or 1750-2400 MHz band and one for a shipboard satellite communication system operating in the 4000-6000 MHz band.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 27-30, 1997 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The requirement for a lightweight, quick deployment C-Band satellite communication antenna system for Aegis Class Destroyers has been addressed and this paper describes a novel solution currently being implemented. The new antenna system takes advantage of the low windload properties of the FLAPS™ (Flat Parabolic Surface) reflector and features a broadband FLAPS™ reflector mounted on a lightweight, high performance X-Y positioner. The system is designed in a modular fashion and operates in a shipboard environment without the protection of a radome. The system is stabilized to counteract the ship's motion, operates without counterweights, weighs less than 250 kg and provide communication links in the 3900 to 4100 MHz and 6000 to 6200 MHz frequency bands.

Novel designs of three-dimensional patch antennas for beamdwidth enhancement and broadband peration have been proposed in this dissertation. For the beamwidth enhancement, the patch antenna with an inverted V-shaped patch has been proposed, and the antenna¡¦s radiation beamwidths have been broadened. Another beamwidth enhancement design using a three-dimensional square ground structure has also been demonstrated, and the 3-dB beamwidth of the CP radiation can reach more than 110¢X. In addition to the designs of beamwidth enhancement, the broadband patch antennas with a V-shaped patch, a W-shaped ground plane and a short probe-pin have been proposed. These novel structures can have significantly reduced probe-pin length and obtain a good impedance matching over a wide frequency range. Finally, a 1 ¡Ñ 2 broadband patch antenna array, suitable for base-station antenna applications for mobile communications systems, has also been studied.

Novel printed slot antennas are demonstrated in this thesis. For the linear polarization design, CPW-fed strip-loaded square slot antenna is presented for achieving broadband operations. For the circular polarization, two novel antenna designs are also presented¡Fone is a CPW-fed square slot antenna with an inverted L tunning stub, and the other is a microstrip line-fed square slot antenna with a conducting strip from ground plane for broadband circularly polarized radiation. Finally, an antenna design having compact size and broadband characteristic is shown.

The bandwidth-enhancement characteristics of slot-loaded rectangular microstrip antennas constructed on a thin microwave substrate have been investigated in this dissertation. The primary design process about this topic is demonstrated. Firstly, a new antenna design idea is provided from pre-determined antenna design specifications or obtained antenna performances from the previous antenna design, which lead to a novel antenna configuration. From the results of the simulation software IE3DTM, the characteristics of this new antenna configuration are obtained and compared with the experimental results. The antenna configuration is also modified to achieve a final optimal design from the comparison results. The study of the single-feed dual-frequency rectangular microstrip antenna with a pair of bent slots is first presented. By embedding properly-designed slots on a rectangular microstrip patch, the impedance characteristics of this antenna design have been effectively changed to exhibit dual-resonant behavior, which result in the excitation of two adjacent resonant modes with similar radiation characteristics. Furthermore, the two resonant modes can be excited at frequencies very close to each other to form a wider operating bandwidth by embedding additional perturbation slots. Four successful antenna designs with different embedded-slot shapes for bandwidth enhancement have been implemented and discussed in this dissertation.

Novel designs of printed slot antennas have been investigated in this dissertation. For the linearly polarized designs, the study of single-feed dual-frequency printed slot antennas with an open-ring conducting strip is first presented. In addition, a novel design of dual-frequency dual-loop printed slot antenna is described. As for the broadband printed slot antenna designs, a printed semicircular slot antenna with a microstripline feed is shown. The impedance bandwidth obtained reaches about 46%. For the circularly polarized designs, we propose a circularly polarized microstrip antenna with an asymmetry of the antenna structure. By choosing a suitable meandered slot, CP operation can be obtained. Finally, we apply the design concept of CP operation using a shorted section to achieve a circularly polarized printed slot antenna design. The obtained CP bandwidth of this design is greater than 8%.

Novel broadband designs of patch antennas with an air substrate have been proposed in this dissertation. In the dual-frequency design, the study of single-fed dual-frequency microstrip antenna with a V-shaped slot has been first presented. As for the broadband patch antenna design, antennas with a U-shaped slot or a pair of wide slits can have an operating bandwidth more than 2.0 times that of a conventional one at a given operating frequency. The antenna bandwidth of then can be enhanced about 25%. In the designs of reducing cross-polarization, by using dual capacitive feeds with equal input powers, but with a 180¢X-phase shift, The cross-polarization radiation can be reduce about 10 to 15dB in the H-plane. Finally, A broadband shorted patch antenna fed by an aperture-coupled feed with an H-shaped coupling slot is proposed. By using an air substrate of thickness about 0.07 free-space wavelength of the center operating frequency, the proposed antenna can have an impedance bandwidth of about 26.2%. And the antenna design reduced the antenna size to be 40%~50%of the simple case.

Novel designs of planar antennas including the feed network for improving the antenna performance improvement (CP axial-ratio bandwidth, XPL, port decoupling for dual-polarized operation, and harmonic control) or achieving dual-band operation are presented. This thesis, comprises five sections. Firstly, for obtaining broadband CP designs, the Wilkinson power divider and branch-line coupler are used. The 3-dB axial ratio CP bandwidths of all proposed antennas are larger than 30%. Secondly, the dual broadband patch antennas including a stopband network are proposed. Thirdly, the dual-polarized patch antenna with high XPL and isolation between two ports by using a Wilkinson power divider with a 180¢X phase shift between its two ports is proposed. Fourthly, the dual-band and dual-polarized patch antenna suitable for base-station antenna applications for mobile communications systems is studied. Finally, the harmonic control study of a square microstrip antenna is presented.

Several broadband dual-polarized patch antenna designs are presented and studied. Good isolation (< ¡V30 dB) between the two feeding ports of the proposed broadband dual-polarized patch antenna has been obtained. This dissertation reports four different innovative designs. Firstly, a new design of the aperture-coupled patch antenna with modified H-shaped coupling slots for achieving dual-polarized radiation with high isolation over a wide bandwidth is studied. Secondly, Optimized feeding of the dual-polarized aperture-coupled patch antenna with H-shaped coupling slots for achieving highly decoupled feeding ports is experimentally investigated. Thirdly, an aperture-coupled patch antenna with a cross slot for compact dual-polarized operation in the 1800-MHz band suitable for applications in personal communication system is presented. Finally, new designs of the broadband dual-polarized patch antenna with hybrid feeds suitable for DCS base-station application are proposed.

The designs of various feeding networks for microstrip antennas have been investigated in this dissertation. In the active microstrip antenna designs, an amplifier-type microstrip antenna integrates a two- port amplifier circuitry to the various passive antennas through a 50£[ inset microstrip feed line which can function in broadband operation¡ACP operation and dual-frequency operation. As for the broadband circularly polarized microstrip antenna with a dual-perpendicular feed design, antenna with a dual-perpendicular feed which was formed by a Wilkinson power divider with a quarter-wavelength section of microstrip line for providing equal splitting of the input power and 90¢X phase difference to the two feed points has been presented. The broadband CP bandwidth can be achieved due to the good isolation between the two output lines of the feed network. In the microstrip antennas with CPW feed designs, we first proposed a microstrip antenna with three-dimensional CPW feed. A separate feed substrate is used which can provide a large-area space for the layout of complicated microwave circuitry. In addition, the feed substrate can also be oriented to the patch substrate with various angles, resulting in more flexibility in the proposed three-dimensional feed design. Finally, we proposed a design with two slot lines located at both sides of the coupling slot which can lengthen the excited patch surface current path, thus the resonant frequency is reduced and an antenna size reduction up to 40% has been obtained.