Design and Realization of a Dual Band/Broadband Linear to Circular Polarization Converter 3D Printed Through Metalized Stereolythography

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and validation of a novel linear-to-circular polarization converter for dual-polarization and dual-band Ka-band satellite antennas. The converter, based on a transverse electromagnetic (TEM) cell topology, addresses previous design limitations using Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA) technology and copper cladding. The lightweight, metallic structure achieves high conductivity while minimizing mass. Simulations of the polarizer installed on a high efficiency radiating element show outstanding performances, with an axial ratio (AR) below 1 dB in the TX band (17.3-20.2 GHz), and AR below 2.2 dB in the RX band (<tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$27.5-30.5 \text{GHz}$</tex>), and reflection below −17 dB in both bands. Measurements show excellent agreements in RX higher band and fair agreement in lower TX bands, which leave room for future improvements. The unit cell simulation shows dual or broad bandwidth and very low losses, making it one of the best-performing polarizing screen to date.