| Abstract: | Ubiquitous and low-latency broadband access services can be obtained with the convergence of satellite and terrestrial networks. Phased array has the advantages of low-profile, flexible beamforming and rapid configuration of parameters, and it has been treated as the ideal candidate radio frequency front-end in information transmission between satellites and terrestrial terminals. However, phased array must cope with the challenges of reducing cost and power consumption, increasing broadband transmission capacity and improving wide-angle scanning performance. Most existing reviews concentrate on the design and manufacturing process of phased arrays. Different from these works, focuses on the recent advances of phased array application in satellite-terrestrial convergence networks. Firstly, we elaborate on basic architectures and characteristics of phased array. Then, we summarize several key technologies to address the challenges, such as beam staring, high-precision beam pointing, low-cost design and multi-beam beamforming ability. Finally, we envision the future development trends and research directions in multiple scenario, such as distributed satellite clusters, high-frequency evolution and the integration of communication and sensing. |
