Packable and Readily Deployable Tightly Coupled Dipole Array (TCDA) With Integrated Planar Balun

To overcome the limited payload dedicated to onboard antennas for CubeSat/SmallSat applications, this paper presents a novel, foldable, dual-polarized Tightly Coupled Dipole Array (TCDA). In comparison previous vertical feeds used TCDAs, array integrates planar microstrip balun feed enable foldability. The proposed attains 5.4:1 (0.6-3.20 GHz) impedance bandwidth with VSWR < 3 at broadside and scans down 45? all azimuth planes. Notably, substrate-integrated in-plane folding mechanism based on Lamina Emergent Torsion (LET) joints is employed achieve foldability coupled simple fabrication process. average simulated radiation efficiency was 95% across band. A 5 × 8 prototype fabricated tested verify finite array’s foldability, bandwidth, gain performance. This achieves 80% one-dimensional size reduction, yielding 60% overall volume reduction. Consequently, can be folded stowed in compact of 1.4U ( 25 cm× 7.2 9 cm ).