A compact EHF/SHF dual frequency antenna

The design and development of a compact EHF/SHF dual-frequency antenna capable of meeting very stringent electrical and mechanical requirements is described. This antenna can serve as a ground terminal antenna for next-generation EHF/SHF military satellite communication systems. These systems usually have severe spatial constraints that require novel approaches in order to fulfil the electrical performance requirement in the limited space available for the antenna subsystem. The proposed design is an effort to solve the spatial problem and meet the electrical performance requirements. It consists of a 5.75-in reflector with a dual-frequency vertex backfire feed and a compact diplexer. The antenna subsystem is compact in size and capable of operating in circularly polarized mode in two frequency bands. It is compatible with the severe spatial constraint, and is optimized in terms of electrical performance, satisfying ground terminal requirements.<>