Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
Small satellites open new possibilities for flexible space missions, reducing costs and shortening development cycles. At the same time, they impose unique demands on communication systems, as size, weight, and power consumption are highly constrained onboard small satellites. Many conventional antenna concepts are difficult to implement under these conditions.
Mechanically steerable parabolic antennas are known for their high gain but often prove too heavy and bulky for small platforms. Active phased array antennas with fully integrated signal processing offer enormous flexibility and high data rates but require more power and increase system complexity. Not every mission requires such a high level of controllability and performance but rather a balanced compromise between effort, cost and gain.
Our reflect array antenna bridges the gap between traditional reflector technology and complex multibeam systems. It produces directional radiation through a flat, electronically tunable reflector surface without any mechanical movement or complex RF transmission electronics. The result is an exceptionally compact, energy-efficient solution, ideal for CubeSats, nanosatellites, and other mounting space-constrained applications.
