Optimization of a Power Divider and Patch Antenna Array for Ku-Band Satellite Communication

In this study, a 1-to-4 modified microstrip power divider integrated with a patch antenna array is optimized for application at the Ku band. For input power division uniformly at the central frequency of 12.5 GHz, an impedance-matched multi-stage power divider is designed with reduced insertion and reflection loss. Rogers RT5880 substrate is used in the miniature microstrip design layout, which offers a wide operating bandwidth of 10.5-15 GHz and a satisfactory input reflection coefficient of -34.9 ∼dB at 12.5 GHz, making it an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) device. The output ports of the divider are fed directly to a linear 1-to-4 array that emulates a single patch antenna element with stepped impedance matching. The combined system reaches a peak gain of 12.29 ∼dBi and a high radiation efficiency of 93.7%. The findings show that the proposed architecture results in a small-sized and power-effective solution for high-frequency and satellite communication systems.