Advanced Wireless Antenna Systems for Satellite and Millimeter-Wave Communications
Summary
Advanced wireless antenna systems for satellite and millimetre-wave communications are pivotal to meeting the surging demand for high-capacity, low-latency connectivity across both terrestrial and spaceborne networks. Modern solutions harness phased-array architectures, active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) and shared-aperture designs to produce steerable, high-gain beams spanning Ku-, Ka- and V-band frequencies. Millimetre-wave allocations support multi-gigabit backhaul links for 5G infrastructure, inter-satellite crosslinks for high-throughput satellites and broadband services for aeronautical, maritime and remote-region users. In satellite terminals, compact arrays with full polarisation agility and digital beamforming enable dynamic coverage shaping and frequency reuse, while in earth-observation and defence applications, high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) demands ultra-efficient radiators. The distinctive propagation challenges at millimetre wavelengths—such as rain attenuation and tight beamwidth control—have driven innovation in surface-wave guiding structures, including Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs), and the integration of transmit/receive modules on a common aperture. Concurrent advances in semiconductor MMICs, real-time beam-steering algorithms and lightweight materials are reducing size, weight, power and cost, paving the way for ubiquitous deployments in smart vehicles, small satellites and urban small-cell networks. Collectively, these technologies are ushering in a new era of flexible, high-throughput wireless connectivity with global reach.
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Advanced Wireless Antenna Systems for Satellite and Millimeter-Wave Communications publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in advanced wireless antenna systems for satellite and millimeter-wave communications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA): A phased-array in which each radiating element is equipped with its own transmitter and receiver module, enabling rapid electronic beam-steering without mechanical movement.
Shared aperture: An antenna configuration that combines multiple frequency- or function-specific arrays within a single physical aperture to optimise space, weight and performance.
Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs): Engineered surface waves that tightly confine millimetre-wave signals along structured metal surfaces, enabling compact, high-gain antenna designs.
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR): A radar imaging technique that exploits the motion of the radar platform to synthesise a large effective aperture, delivering high-resolution Earth observation.
Phased-array: An antenna array comprising multiple radiating elements whose relative phases are adjusted to steer the main beam and suppress sidelobes electronically.
References
- Development of Enabling Technologies for Ku-Band Airborne SATCOM Phased-Arrays. Electronics (2020).
- SPPs-Shared Dual-Band Antenna With Large Frequency Ratio. IEEE Access (2020).
- A X-/Ka-Band Linearly Polarized Low Profile Shared-Aperture Antenna Array for Satellite Applications. IEEE Access (2022).
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