Cross-polarisation discrimination-induced interference in dual-polarised high-capacity satellite communication systems

The design of spectrally-efficient, high-throughput satellite (HTS) systems with capacity approaching one terabit per second requires operating at Ka-band frequencies and above, where there are several gigahertz of allocated radio spectrum, using multiple spot beams with dual orthogonal polarisation mode. At these high frequencies, rain attenuation poses a major obstacle to the design of high-availability satellite links which are needed for the realisation of ubiquitous broadband multimedia communication services including high-speed Internet access at rural and remote locations. Furthermore, depolarisation-induced interference in such systems could have a performance-limiting impact if a co-channel cross-polar signal combines with system noise to drive the carrier-to-noise-plus-interference ratio (CNIR) below an acceptable threshold. This paper employs real measurement data to investigate the impact of depolarisation-induced interference on dual-polarised HTS systems for temperate and tropical climatic regions. Scenarios that cause significant system performance degradation are analysed, including the effects of signal frequency, antenna size, and regional rainfall rate. The impact of depolarisation on system performance is quantified by the reductions in the CNIR and link availability of a dual-polarised system when compared with those of a similarly-dimensioned single-polarised system.