A Ku-band dual-polarization connected array of dipoles with wide-scan capability for inflight entertainment

Abstract

This work reports on the development and performance of a doubly-polarized array of connected dipoles for in-flight entertainment. The array is designed to simultaneously operate in the uplink and the downlink bands, with an overall bandwidth of about 30%, from 10.7 to 14.5 GHz. The array prototype comprises 16×16 elements in each polarization for a total of 512 elements. The use of a loop-shaped transformer in the feed lines and a wide angle impedance matching (WAIM) sheet allows to achieve low cross-polarization and sufficiently good matching for scanning up to ±60° in elevation for every azimuth plane.