A transparent reflectarray antenna integrated with solar cells is presented for satellite communications in the paper. The electromagnetic characteristics of solar cells at Ka-band are investigated, and a sub-wavelength X-shaped… Click to show full abstract
A transparent reflectarray antenna integrated with solar cells is presented for satellite communications in the paper. The electromagnetic characteristics of solar cells at Ka-band are investigated, and a sub-wavelength X-shaped dipole element is designed to augment the reflectarray’s performance. A prototype with an aperture of $160\times150$ mm2 is then analyzed, fabricated, and tested to validate the proposed design. The simulation and measurement results show good radiation characteristics, and the measured gain at 20 GHz is 27.3 dBi with an aperture efficiency of 40.0%. Low side-lobe and cross polarization levels are obtained. Furthermore, the solar energy efficiency of the proposed transparent reflectarray antenna is studied through an optical blockage experiment. The optical blockage ratio is less than 9.9% and at least 81% of light transmittance has been achieved. This work continues to propel the research on reflectarray antennas integrated with solar cells, making it more promising for practical applications in space satellite communications.
