A solar parabolic reflector antenna design for digital satellite communication systems
This paper introduces a compact solar parabolic reflector antenna design, with an effective DC solar performance and high gain / pencil beam antenna radiation characteristics, as an alternative to the standalone use of home-based autonomous solar panels and digital satellite antennas. The proposed solar reflector antenna consists of 2 parabolic shaped silicon solar panels with a diameter of 60 cm, each constructed by connecting individual silicon solar cells electrically in appropriate angles in order to create an approximate parabolic surface. The solar panels within the design have been connected in parallel in order to increase the total DC output level for medium and high current appliances. The bottom DC contact layer of the first silicon solar panel, which collects the DC current generated by the electrically connected solar cells within the panel as a result of the photovoltaic effect, also works as a parabolic reflector antenna with an average gain of 32.8 dB at the digital satellite downlink frequency band of 10.70 - 12.75 GHz, allocated by the ITU to the Region 1, including Europe. © 2012 IEEE.
