An aperiodic active lens for multibeam satellite applications: From the design to the breadboard manufacturing and testing

Some advances on the design, manufacturing and testing of an aperiodic bootlace active lens generating a multiple spot contiguous beams coverage are presented in the paper. The antenna represents an interesting architecture based on a single aperture able to replace conventional antennas based on multi reflector dishes onboard geo or non-geo stationary satellites. The antenna has been optimized in terms of number of radiators, dimensions, weight, and power amplifiers efficiency. The first experimental results on a passive antenna system have demonstrated interesting features. The implementation of a real active solution is now on going.