Development of Optically Transparent Patch Antennas for Solar Panel Integration on CubeSats

Satellite design faces the challenge of optimizing external surface area to accommodate various components, such as solar panels, antennas, sensors, and technology demonstrations. For small satellites, solar cells occupy most of the external faces, offering little surface area for other functions. To solve this problem, researchers and developers have attempted to create an S-band patch antenna that can integrate with a solar cell, providing higher gain and maximizing solar panel power generation. The most common option is to create a meshed patch antenna on a transparent substrate, increasing optical transparency. Often, this involves using conductive ink printed onto a transparent material such as glass or thick plastic. This transparent patch antenna (TPA) allows satellites to use a patch antenna without losing a solar panel. The TPA is designed to function at 2.425 GHz.