Design and Simulation of a Conformal Micro-Strip Patch Antenna at GNSS L1/ E1 Frequency Band

Abstract

In this paper, we have designed a conformal U-slot type micro-strip (µ-strip) patch antenna to be used in L1 frequency band. First, a primary design of flat, rectangular U-slot µ-strip patch antenna is designed around the center frequency of L1 band that is 1575.42 MHz. Then, this design has been converted to a conformal type such that it can be used cylindrical platforms such as missiles. The primary design of conformal U-slot µ-strip patch antenna has been optimized for the L1, E1 frequency band between 1563 MHz and 1587 MHz, and 1559 MHz and 1591 MHz; respectively. Then, antenna parameters such as operation bandwidth and the radiation pattern were reported based on the optimized simulation results for this stand-alone conformal antenna. Finally, this antenna has been positioned on a missile model and the antenna simulation is repeated to validate the effectiveness and the usability of this antenna on a realistic platform and the scenario. The real-physics antenna simulation of the final optimized conformal U-slot type µ-strip patch antenna mounted on the missile model has shown that this antenna is effectively operation between 1.5442 and 1.6077 GHz such that it can conveniently be used for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) applications of L1 and E1 band.