Self-steered antennas under scrutiny

Bulky present generation satellite dishes and ground terminals could become relics of the past following research being conducted for the European Space Agency (ESA) by Queen's University Belfast's Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) aimed at developing discrete self-aligning flat antennas.

It is hoped the work could lead to a one-size-fits-all solution that could be optimised for a variety of technologies presently used to deliver satellite broadband and television to travellers as well as users in broadband 'not spots'.

ECIT is currently working on an 18-month project with the aim of developing a self-contained, solid-state, self-steering antenna that is much lighter and less power hungry than current alternatives.

The team, being led by Prof Vincent Fusco, plans to complete work on a 1.6 GHz demonstrator - capable of providing transfer rates of 0.5 Mbps - with a power requirement of 2 W. It is anticipated that the device will ultimately have the capability to operate at 20-30 GHz to provide much greater bandwidth.

The design currently being worked on is a 4x5 element planar array measuring 30 by 40 cm and 12 mm deep.

The circuits are entirely analog and incorporate specially adapted phase locked loop circuits. By contrast, conventional circuits convert incoming signals to digital, process them electronically and then convert them back to analog.

This, however, limits their frequency and increases their complexity, cost and power requirements.

Queen's University has a strong reputation in this specialised field, having built the world's first 65 MHz self-steered antenna a number of years ago.