A comparison between stacked slotted and solid square patches in phased array environment for wide angle coverage

The objective is to develop a low profile microstrip array suitable for mobile satellite communications for a wide elevation angle coverage with a minimum gain to noise temperature ratio of -12 dBK. To achieve this, a novel microstrip element with crossed slots has been developed and modeled using Ensemble version 2.0. The developed element is a stacked combination of a slotted element and a solid element to provide a dual frequency operation that encompasses both transmit and receive bands with an impedance bandwidth of 9% for a VSWR of 1.7. The paper discusses the development of the slotted element, modeling, comparison of this element with a conventional element in an independent and in an array environments. The paper also discusses optimized impedance match and simulated far field radiation patterns of both the elements.