Phase Corrections on Satellite-tracking Antennas

用于互联网服务的NGSO（非地球同步卫星轨道）卫星，如Starlink，OneWeb和SES O3 b卫星星座，需要高性能和低成本的波束跟踪用户终端天线。然而，目前市场上的产品要么太贵，要么不符合技术性能标准，或者两者兼而有之。这严重阻碍了该行业的发展和增长，在该行业中，大量投资已被放在卫星技术和星座的建设上。在Starlink的情况下，天线，其制造成本超过2k美元，由企业大量补贴，以便以599美元\提供整个用户终端。在SES O3 b的案例中，该服务目前仅限于大型企业或商业用户，每个天线的成本超过数万美元。Satraka天线由TechApp Consultants（TAC）开发，基于正在申请专利的创新技术，提供高技术性能，大幅降低成本。它为基于卫星的互联网服务广泛应用并进入世界各地的消费者市场铺平了道路。虽然Satraka天线与当今市场上的其他产品相比具有许多竞争优势，但其相对较大的天线尺寸（主要是天线宽度）并不可取。然而，减小天线宽度会降低天线性能。TAC透过内部研发计划，找出天线性能下降的问题及原因，包括因天线宽度减少而产生的表面畸变及射频相位误差。本项目旨在透过理论分析及实验测量，量化相位误差，然后修正相位通过使用介质透镜的误差，最后通过建立样机和天线距离测量验证解决方案。工具/方法，和测量计量学在确定相位误差将在这个项目中开发。

NGSO (non-geostationary satellite orbit) satellites for internet services, such as Starlink, OneWeb and SES O3b satellite constellations require high-performance and low-cost beam-tracking user terminal antennas. The products on the market today, however, are either too expensive, do not meet technical performance standards, or both. This severely impedes the development and growth of the industry, where massive investment has been placed on the build-up of satellite technology and constellations.In Starlink's case, the antenna, which costs over $2k to manufacture, is heavily subsidised by the business in order to offer the entire user terminal at $599\. In SES O3b's case, the service is currently restricted to large enterprises or commercial users, with each antenna costing over tens of thousands of dollars.The Satraka antenna, developed by TechApp Consultants (TAC) and based on innovative and patent-pending technology, offers high technical performance with a significant cost reduction. It paves the way for the satellite based internet services to be widely available and accessible to the consumer market around the world.While Satraka antennas offer many competitive advantages over other products on the market today, its relatively large antenna dimensions that are mainly on the antenna width, are not desirable. Reducing the antenna width, however, degrades the antenna performance. Through an internal R&D programme, TAC identified the issues and the causes of the performance degradation, being the surface aberration and radio frequency (RF) phase-error created by the reduction of antenna width.This project aims to quantify the phase-error by theoretical analysis and experimental measurements, then correct the phase-error through the use of dielectric lens and finally validate the solution by building prototypes and antenna range measurements.Both theoretical analysis tools/approaches, and the measurement metrology in determining the phase error are to be developed in this project.