(AGENPARL) – mar 13 giugno 2023 *PRESS RELEASE
*
Source: Tokyo Institute of Technology
For immediate release: June 13, 2023
Headline:*Towards the **New-Space** Era with Foldable Phased-Array
Transmitters for Small Satellites *
(Tokyo, June 13) *New design for a foldable phased-array transmitter can
help make satellites lightweight, smaller, and cost-efficient to launch,
report scientists at Tokyo Tech. The transmitter is made of stacked layers
of liquid crystal polymer and incorporates flexible creases, which provide
flexibility and deployability. The new design could make research and
implementation of space technologies more accessible to private companies
and startups.*
There has been a recent shift in the space industry towards what is now
called the “*new-space* era.” The term refers to how space is no longer
dominated exclusively by government agencies such as NASA but has instead
become a playground for many private companies and startups interested in
exploring and deploying space technologies. While this opens up a vast
ocean of possibilities for space research, exploration, and
telecommunications, launching satellites remains an expensive endeavor.
In general, low earth orbit (LEO) satellites are both low cost and low
latency. However, modern antenna designs for LEO satellites are heavy,
leading to a trade-off between making satellites compact and achieving a
large antenna aperture for better performance. Such issues increase launch
costs significantly and are regarded as major hurdles to overcome in the
*new-space* era.
Against this backdrop, a team of scientists led by Associate Professor
Atsushi Shirane from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) in Japan
has developed a deployable foldable transmitter for small LEO satellites
operating in the Ka band. Their innovative design and configuration,
presented at the *International Microwave Symposium 2023 *and published in
the *IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters*
and lighter satellites without compromising their transmission performance.
The key to this novel design, which consists of a 64-element active
phased-array transmitter, lies in a clever stacking of liquid crystal
polymer (LCP) layers to create foldable creases without hampering
electrical connections. The researchers stacked six layers for the areas
designated for the patch antennas and circuit elements, but used only two
layers for the creases. This made the phase array foldable without causing
any damage to the circuit lines (Figure 1).
Notably, to enable proper operation of the phased-array, the team had to
account for the variable folding angle of the transmitter. “In a deployable
phased-array mounted onto a satellite, the calibration of a mechanically
deformed phased-array plane geometry is an inevitable process,” explains
Dr. Shirane. “In the present design, by controlling each phase of antenna
element independently, the proposed transmitter could work properly at
bending angles ranging from ?10° to 20°.” The corresponding beam pattern
measurements are shown in Figure 2.
The researchers also had to offset the asymmetries introduced by the
creases, which affect the antenna patches closer to them by slightly
modifying their size and location.
After thorough testing, they reported a high isotropic radiated power of
46.7 dBm for a remarkably lightweight antenna. “With the flexible
hetero-segment LCP board, the proposed phased-array transmitter weighed
only 9.65 g with 64 antenna elements, which is superior to a rigid
state-of-the-art transmitter that weighs 33.64 g with 16 elements,”
highlights Dr. Shirane.
With any luck, further developments in transmitter designs will make
deploying space technologies more accessible in this blooming *new-space*
era.
*Reference*
Conference:
IEEE International Microwave Symposium 2023
Session:
We1A: Space Systems and Technologies
June 14 2023, 8:00AM (Local Time)
Session Title:
A Ka-Band 64-element Deployable Active Phased Array Transmitter on a
Flexible Hetero Segmented Liquid Crystal Polymer for Small-Satellites
Researchers:
Dongwon You1, Xi Fu1, Hans Herdian1, Xiaolin Wang1, Yasto Narukiyo1, Ashbir
Aviat Fadila1, Hojun Lee1, Michihiro Ide1, Sena Kato1, Zheng Li1, Yun Wang1,
Daisuke Awaji2, Jian Pang1, Hiraku Sakamoto1, Kenichi Okada1, and Atsushi
Shirane1, *
Affiliations:
1Tokyo Institute of Technology
2Fujikura Ltd, Electronic Technologies R&D Center
File of Figure 1 and 2:
https://tokyotech.box.com/s/bjw6obxyty5mvozpz1mkatvylf6vtwoa
Title of figure 1. A foldable phased-array transmitter for LEO satellites.
Captions: By varying the number of liquid crystal polymer layers, the
proposed design incorporates foldable creases, contributing to a smaller
form factor and lower weight.
Title of figure 2. Measured beam pattern under various board bent-angle
states.
Captions: The proposed deployable foldable transmitter for small
satellites can work properly at bending angles ranging from ?10° to 20°.
*About Tokyo Institute of Technology *
Tokyo Tech stands at the forefront of research and higher education as the
leading university for science and technology in Japan. Tokyo Tech
researchers excel in fields ranging from materials science to biology,
computer science, and physics. Founded in 1881, Tokyo Tech hosts over
10,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year, who develop into
scientific leaders and some of the most sought-after engineers in industry.
Embodying the Japanese philosophy of “monotsukuri,” meaning “technical
ingenuity and innovation,” the Tokyo Tech community strives to contribute
to society through high-impact research.
https://www.titech.ac.jp/english/