SCanning Antenna in HYbrid Mechanical-Electrical technology for terminals
ESA project for developing hibrid mechanical electronic scanning antenna for user terminals compatible with high volume production (ARTES AT 7B.068).
CONTEXT
Today, development of user terminals for LEO constellations is led by phased array technologies adopting complex and lossy beamforming networks that are not compatible with power and complexity requirements of high-volume commercial applications. Hybrid mechanical and electronic beam steering has the potential to significantly reduce the overall complexity of the antenna. Power consumption is also reduced, potentially enabling this concept to be applied beyond fixed installations. Both mechanical and electronic scanning antenna are already widely used, and hybrid products are emerging outside ESA Member States.
OBJECTIVES
This activity will trade-off the two scanning methods to reach a compromise on performance, power and size, meeting regulatory requirements set by ITU, ETSI, etc. and beam control required by LEO constellations. Mechanical scanning is anticipated for coarse pointing and electronic scanning for fast connectivity switching between satellites.
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a hybrid mechanical electronic scanning antenna for satcom user terminals suitable for LEO satcom systems. The antenna shall be compatible with high volume production.
The design will focus on lowering complexity in comparison to existing fully electronically scanning antennas achieving sufficient functionality without overdesigning.
TRL Level
Target is 6
STATUS
Started in December 2023.
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PARTNERS
RF Microtech S.r.l. Italy
https://rfmicrotech.com