Quadrifilar loop antenna

A new quadrifilar antenna has been developed for generating circularly polarized backfire radiation. The antenna consists of two orthogonal rectangular conducting loops, each incorporating capacitive coupling and fed using either a single or two coaxial cables. Though the geometry is much simpler than a conventional quadrifilar helix antenna, the radiation pattern performance is very similar. Measured and simulated patterns are compared for two antennas with different feed arrangements. It is shown that the resonant structure can produce a cardioid pattern with a directivity of 4.5 dB (120° 3 dB beamwidth) and a front-to-back ratio of more than 20 dB at the center operating frequency. A 10% impedance bandwidth (VSWR<2) over which the axial ratio is less than 3 dB is demonstrated.