Sub-Wavelength Profile 2-D Leaky-Wave Antennas With Two Periodic Layers

Abstract

A fast and accurate analysis and synthesis technique for high-gain sub-wavelength 2-D Fabry-Perot leaky-wave antennas (LWA) consisting of two periodic metallodielectric arrays over a ground plane is presented. Full-wave method of moments (MoM) together with reciprocity is employed for the estimation of the near fields upon plane wave illumination and the extraction of the radiation patterns of the LWA. This yields a fast and rigorous tool for the characterisation of this type of antennas. A thorough convergence study for different antenna designs is presented and the operation principles of these antennas as well as the radiation characteristics are discussed. Moreover, design guidelines to tailor the antenna profile, the dimensions of the arrays as well as the antenna directivity and bandwidth are provided. A study on the radiation efficiency for antennas with different profiles is also presented and the trade off between directivity and radiation bandwidth is discussed. Numerical examples are given throughout to demonstrate the technique. A finite size antenna model is simulated using commercial software (CST Microstripes 2009) which validates the technique.Index Terms-Artificial magnetic conductor, high-gain antennas, high impedance surfaces, leaky-wave antennas (LWAs), resonant cavities, sub-wavelength resonators.

A Simple Technique for the Dispersion Analysis of Fabry-Perot Cavity Leaky-Wave Antennas

“…Hence, by scanning the relative field strength at an observation point inside the antenna cavity for plane waves incident with all possible angles at a fixed frequency, the radiation pattern of the antenna at this frequency can be obtained [4], [18]. This method can be efficiently applied employing the spectral domain periodic MoM for the full-wave modeling of LWAs such as the one depicted in Fig.…”

“…In [8] a transmission line model was introduced in order to predict the radiation characteristics and resonance conditions of antennas formed using multiple layers of dielectrics. More recently, the radiation patterns of Fabry-Pérot antennas formed by 2-D periodic metallodielectric arrays as PRS have been extracted using rigorous full-wave Method of Moments (MoM) and invoking reciprocity [4], [18]; however, this technique stops short of obtaining the complex propagation constant, which is useful for the design of antennas with tailored radiation patterns.…”

The Puck Antenna: A Compact Design With Wideband, High-Gain Operation

“…The radiation (or gain) is enhanced towards the direction where the leaked wave portions are in-phase. Hence, the antenna is frequently called a resonant cavity antenna (RCA) [17] or a leaky-wave antenna (LWA) [15].…”

Multi-layer sub-wavelength profile broadband leaky-wave antenna

“…Typically they are formed from doubly periodic arrays of metallic elements printed on a grounded dielectric substrate and their key aspect is that they reflect electromagnetic waves with zero phase shift at a specific frequency. In [4,5] this property has been exploited for the first time to achieve a FPC antenna of sub-wavelength profile. More recently, a λ/60 profile FPC antenna has been proposed employing an AMC ground plane and a combination of an AMC and a PRS surface to further reduce the profile [6].…”