High-Performance Electrically Thin Dual-Band Polarizing Reflective Surface for Broadband Satellite Applications

This paper describes an anisotropic impedance surface that provides dual-band linear-to-circular polarization conversion in reflection with the peculiar property that a same linear polarization is converted into a given circular polarization handedness over the first frequency band and into the orthogonal one over the second frequency band. This property is of interest for multiple beam satellite communication systems, as the transmit and receive signals are commonly operating in orthogonal polarizations. This paper demonstrates that a simple, electrically thin polarizer design can provide high-performance conversion over the extended frequency bands used for broadband satellite applications. Some insight on the operation of the proposed polarizer is provided, supported by equivalent circuit models and analytical formulas, and compared with full-wave simulation results. The proposed design achieves an axial ratio better than 0.2 dB in simulation at normal incidence. A further iteration of the design and breadboard, taking into account measurement and practical implementation errors, provides an axial ratio better than 0.5 dB in measurement over the full transmit and receive frequency bands allocated to broadband satellite applications within the K/Ka bands.