A. S. Kukharenko – Ph.D. (Eng.), Leading Engineer,

JSC “National technical physics and automation research institute” (Moscow)

E-mail: alexk.05@mail.ru

R. V. Shaymardanov – Ph.D. (Eng.), General Director,

LLC “General Microwave” (Moscow)

In our days requirements for positioning systems, which use global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals, become stronger. It happens because of evolution and creation of automatically controlled (often even unmanned) systems such as air and vehicle drones, automatic storages, self-driving cars and so on. Facing the fact, requirements for antenna elements also become stronger. At now the most part of antenna elements, implemented in user GNSS equipment, are microstrip antennas with ceramic substrates with one or several feeding points. But the use of dielectric substrates with high permittivity leads the following: antenna element operating band width becomes narrower, stronger requirements for manufacturing technology and for substrate material quality and antenna element cost respectively increases. So, one of methods of the parameters improvement is to decrease antenna element substrate material permittivity. Air is one of materials with lowest permittivity.

To show the problem more clearly, the paper presents description of classical microstrip antenna element construction, widely used in our days for design of antenna elements for GNSS systems. Using the construction as an example of advantages of air substrate for design of such antenna elements is mathematically described and shown. The main advantage is a much wider operating band width. Main part of the paper presents a construction of an air substrate based antenna element. The construction contains a dielectric base where radiating element and feeding microstrip lines are mounted. The construction is located above a ground plane, having no contact with it and separated from it by an air substrate. Dielectric material in the case serves not as a substrate between ground plane and a radiating element, but as a basis for radiating and feeding elements mounting. Description of the antenna element construction operating is also provided. The construction allows realizing all advantages of air substrates which are simple manufacturing technology, wider operating temperature range, absence of expensive dielectric materials.

Parameters of designed antenna modules based on antenna elements with air substrate are presented. All of presented antenna modules are designed having an air substrate antenna element as a basis of their ideology and construction. Description of antenna module for GNSS which provide operation with all bands and satellite navigation systems using a single antenna element is provided. High technical parameters of the module are confirmed and certified by such respected centers as NGS Co. and “VNIIFTRI” Co. Also antenna module for local navigation system GAGAN is presented. Presented technical parameters of the modules clearly demonstrate advantages of the described antenna element construction.

1. Vejtsel' A.V., Vejtsel' V.A., Tatarnikov D.V. Apparatura vysokotochnogo pozitsionirovaniya po signalam global'nykh navigatsionnykh sputnikovykh sistem: Vysokotochnye antenny. Spetsial'nye metody povysheniya tochnosti pozitsionirovaniya. Pod red. M.I. Zhodzish-skogo. M.: MAI-Print. 2010.
2. Nefedov E.I. Ustrojstva SVCh i antenny. Ucheb. posobie dlya studentov vysshikh uchebnykh zavedenij. M.: Izdatel'skij tsentr «Akademiya». 2009.                               
3. Fel'd Ya.N., Benenson L.S. Osnovy teorii antenn. Ucheb. posobie dlya vuzov. Izd. 2-e, pererab. M.: Drofa. 2007.
4. Perov A.I. Osnovy postroeniya sputnikovykh radionavigatsionnykh sistem. Ucheb. posobie dlya vuzov. M.: Radiotekhnika. 2012.
5. Boriskin A.D., Vejtsel' A.V., Vejtsel' V.A. i dr. Apparatura vysokotochnogo pozitsionirovaniya po signalam global'nykh navigatsionnykh sputnikovykh sistem: Priemniki-potrebiteli navigatsionnoj informatsii. Pod red. M.I. Zhodzishskogo. M.: MAI-Print. 2010.
6. Patent RF na poleznuyu model' № 188184. Shirokodiapazonnaya antenna dlya sputnikovoj sistemy navigatsii (GNSS) / A.S. Kukharenko, R.V. Shajmardanov, A.A. Elizarov. Opubl. 02.04.2019. Byul. № 10.
7. Panchenko S.A., Nefedov E.I. Mikropoloskovye antenny. M.: Radio i svyaz'. 1986.
8. Tekhnicheskie kharakteristiki navigatsionnykh antennykh modulej GNSS-1GP i GNSS-1CL [Elektronnyj resurs] / URL: https://www.generalmicrowave.org/ gnss (data obrashcheniya: 23.09.2019).
9. Dannye otnositel'noj kalibrovki polozheniya fazovogo tsentra antennogo modulya GNSS-1GP, poluchennye v tsentre kalibrovki i poverki NGS [Elektronnyj resurs] / URL: https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ (data obrashcheniya: 23.09.2019).
10. Sertifikat o kalibrovke antennogo modulya GNSS-1GP [Elektronnyj resurs] / URL: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/bded7b_7e02f3be47 8d4e07940dc0ce49a5801f.pdf-index=true (data obrashcheniya: 23.09.2019).