Abstract
A conformal log-periodic balloon antenna operating at a very high-frequency (VHF) band is presented in this communication. The antenna consists of eight conformal bowtie-dipole elements cross-fed by a parallel-strip transmission line and is then attached to the surface of a cylindrical balloon. After a detailed comparative analysis of the radiation performance of conformal strip dipole and bowtie dipole, a conformal log-periodic bowtie-dipole balloon antenna is designed. Simulated results show that its operating bandwidth ranges from 60 to 233 MHz with the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) less than 2 and a good end-fire radiation pattern of 5-dBi average gain. Measured results of a full-scale prototype fabricated with aluminum foils and a polyvinyl chloride balloon are in good agreement with simulated ones, which demonstrates the balloon antenna's potential applications in VHF communication systems.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 7063943 |
| Pages (from-to) | 2756-2761 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Balloon antenna
- bowtie-dipole
- conformal antenna
- log-periodic antenna
- very high frequency (VHF)