A quadruple subharmonic phase-conjugating array for secure picosatellite crosslinks

Abstract

A retrodirective array for use in secure picosatellite networks is presented. This is the first reported array that uses quadruple subharmonic mixing which relaxes the requirements on a high-frequency local oscillator. The array demonstrates circular polarization and two-dimensional retrodirectivity for a free-floating satellite environment. Bistatic radiation-pattern measurements demonstrate the effectiveness of the design.