電磁最佳化實驗室EM Optimization LabYen-Sheng Research Group, Department of Electronic Engineering

A high-gain antenna that integrates a power amplifier, a solar-powered mechanism, and an optically-transparent reflectarray is proposed for CubeSat communications. The proposed antenna is a sub-system that comprises three modules, including a feeding antenna, an amplifier, and a reflectarray. The size is very compact, occupying only 11 × 8 square cm, yet the gain can reach as high as 45 dB. The antenna is a quasi-Yagi structure, which provides a peak gain of 8 dBi. Considering that the environment of satellite communications is full of sunlight, which can not only power the electronics of the CubeSat but also bias the amplifier module, we connect the quasi-Yagi antenna with the power module, accomplishing an active-integrated-antenna (AIA) design. Accordingly, the peak gain can be enhanced as 30 dB. To further increase the gain, this AIA is integrated to the transparent reflectarray, which has 423 elements and be able to increase the gain to 45 dB. In addition to the gain enhancement, the transparent reflectarray obstructs the sunlight insignificantly, so the solar panels can be fully powered using the proposed antenna sub-system. This makes the antenna sub-system self-contained, and the gain enhancement increases the receiving power of a device.