Ground terminal antenna for Ka-band satellite communications

This paper presents a new low-cost antenna intended for moving platforms like planes, high-speed trains or buses, allowing communications with Ka-band satellites. Beam scanning capability covers the range from 0° to 65° in elevation and 360° in azimuth. The antenna structure is composed by a horn with a 45° slant aperture and a shaped dielectric lens that tilts and rotates in front of the horn to direct the beam, providing simple mechanical steering. Scan loss in the elevation plane is of the order of 3 dB.