VIRIDYN DX: Mission-Critical SATCOM & Flat Panel Antennas
The Challenge:
A leading company in the LEO flat panel antenna SATCOM market received feedback from customers that rainfall was causing signal attenuation in Ku and Ka bands for their integrated flat panel SATCOM system. In addition, snow and ice accumulation was causing significant connectivity disruption for users in cold climates, even though the flat panel terminal had an in-built heating element.
The flat panel terminal already had a hydrophobic coating designed to mitigate rain fade, however the performance of the coating did not meet the high consumer expectations for uninterrupted connectivity in all environmental conditions.
The customer urgently required a new surface coating solution that would accomplish the following:
Roll-off angle of 5°.
Colour transparency of the coating.
Significantly mitigate rain fade / signal attenuation in Ku and Ka bands.
Reduce snow and ice accumulation.
Enable easy reapplication by end-users in the field.
The Solution:
ViriDyn and partners already had significant experience in ensuring RF transparency for marine and ground-based microwave antennas, 5G antennas, and radomes.
At the time of the enquiry from the flat-panel customer, ViriDyn’s pre-existing superhydrophobic coatings (VIRIDYN SH-1, VIRIDYN SH-2) were in wide-use as a trusted solutions for enterprise, government, and defense communications systems. Typical applications of these coatings included small to large stationary antennas, small to large stationary radomes (up to 10 meters in diameter), marine radomes, and aerospace SATCOM systems.
The unique challenge presented by the customer was the extremely low roll-off angle that is specifically relevant to the new-generation of flat panel terminals while ensuring colour transparency. In addition, the ease of reapplication in the field was very important for the customer in order to ensure continued end-user satisfaction.
ViriDyn and partners were able to offer a uniquely formulated one-step hydrophobic coating system that provided the following essential functionalities to users of the flat panel system:
Roll-off angle of < 5°.
Significant mitigation of rain fade / signal attenuation, especially in Ku and Ka bands.
RF transparency and colour transparency.
Prevention of snow and ice accumulation.
15 minute in-the-field reapplication system for complete restoration of hydrophobic surface protection.
ViriDyn is excited to announce the launch of VIRIDYN DX, an innovative wipe-on hydrophobic coating system designed to address the needs of flat panel SATCOM system users.
VIRIDYN DX ensures RF-transparency in rain and snow, thereby solving the mission-critical challenge of continuous connectivity in harsh environments over long periods of use. The 15 minute rapid deployment design of the VIRIDYN DX wipe-on coating system further ensures that flat panel users can confidently remain connected on-the-go, no matter where they are.
If you are a manufacturer of flat panel terminals, please contact us here to learn more about how VIRIDYN DX can protect your systems. You can also request a sample for prototyping.
If you are the owner of a flat panel system (including Dishy users) and require aftermarket protection of your systems to ensure RF transparency in all weather conditions, please sign up for communications here to be notified when ViriDyn releases VIRIDYN DX to the public.