A Broadband Dual-Polarized Solar Cell Phased Array Antenna

This study proposes a broadband dual-polarized solar cell phased array antenna. It is constructed by using crisscross distributed metal-meshed tie-shaped dipoles, an optical transparent glass substrate, feeding probes and ground probes, a solar cell, and a metal ground. The meshed tie-shaped dipoles are sputtered on the top surface of the glass substrate. Circular metal-meshed patches located at the crisscrossing points of the dipoles on the back surface of the glass substrate are introduced to extend the operational bandwidth of the solar cell antenna. The solar cell was placed on the ground of the antenna. We fabricated a sample of the solar cell antenna and measured the electromagnetic characteristics and its power output. The results of the measurements agreed with those of simulations. The proposed solar cell antenna array had a wide operational bandwidth of 2.5–5 GHz, a wide 2-D range of the phase scanning angle of ±45°, a high aperture efficiency of 68.9%–84.1%, and a high relative maximum output power ratio of 87.1% compared with a pure solar cell. It is scalable and can be used in a self-sustained 5G wireless communication system for sub-6 GHz applications.