Multibeam Phased Array Feed System Using Beam Group Concept

The concept of beam groups should enable us to obtain a lightweight antenna feed system that offers high antenna gain and high flexibility in radio-frequency (RF) power distribution among the beams of the next-generation multibeam communication satellite. Setting up groups of beams and exciting all the beams in a group using the same amplitude weight improves the antenna gain over the entire coverage area compared with the conventional array-fed reflector antenna and achieves flexible RF power distribution among the beams. The beams shared by different beam groups are combined with appropriate phase and division ratios so as to further improve the RF power distribution flexibility. An antenna feeder that uses these techniques is only half the weight of conventional antenna feed systems.