A broadband coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed monopole antenna based on conventional CPW-fed integration with an organic solar cell (OSC) of 100% insolation is suggested for Ku band satellite communication. The proposed configuration was designed to allow for 100% insolation of the OSC, thereby improving the performance of the antenna. The device structure was fabricated using a Leiterplatten-Kopierfrasen (LPKF) prototyping Printed circuit board (PCB) machine, while a vector network analyzer was utilized to measure the return loss. The simulated results demonstrated that the proposed antenna was able to cover an interesting operating frequency band from 11.7 to 12.22 GHz, which is in compliance with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Consequently, a 3 GHz broadband in the Ku band was achieved, along with an enhancement in the realized gain of about 6.30 dB. The simulation and experimental results showed good agreement, whereby the proposed structure could be specifically useful for fixed-satellite-services (FSS) operating over the frequency range from the 11.7 to 12.22 GHz (downlink) band.
Keywords: CPW-fed monopole antenna; P3HT:PCBM; organic solar cell; satellite communication.