Flat antenna should improve internet reception for aircraft

The company Kymeta is introducing a flat satellite antenna, the mTenna, which should improve the reception of the internet signal for Wi-Fi in aircraft, among other things. The antenna uses a layer of electromagnetic metamaterial that can target a satellite.

An antenna that communicates with a satellite must be able to focus, so that satellite antennas are placed in radomes. Those domes create a lot of air resistance, something that is not very practical when flying, although those domes are becoming flatter.

Kymeta’s mTenna, a spin-out from Intellectual Ventures, is an antenna that can still point at a satellite without moving parts. The antenna consists of a layer of liquid crystals between two printed circuit boards or glass layers and together with a holographically adaptable electromagnetic metamaterial can approach the Ku and Ka bands, 12-18GHz and 26.5 to 40GHz making new parts of the spectrum useful to to establish a connection.

The antenna has a diameter of half a meter to a meter and is more than a centimeter thick. The system does not only offer advantages for aircraft. Boat owners with satellite receivers can also use this. The device is also energy efficient: it only needs a normal USB connection to function.