A Period-Reconfigurable Leaky-Wave Antenna With Fixed-Frequency and Wide-Angle Beam Scanning

• Published in: IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation 2019-06, Vol.67 (6), p.3720-3732
• Main Authors: Li, Zheng, Guo, Y. Jay, Chen, Shu-Lin, Wang, Junhong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antenna measurements; Antennas; Beam scanning; Electronic control; Harmonic analysis; Leaky waves; leaky-wave antenna (LWA); Metals; P-i-n diodes; Parasitic elements (antennas); Parasitics (electronics); periodic structure; Point sources; reconfigurable antenna; Reconfiguration; Scanning; space harmonic; Substrate integrated waveguides; Substrates; Varactors
• ISSN: 0018-926X; 1558-2221
• DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2019.2907636

A novel fixed-frequency beam-scanning leaky-wave antenna (LWA) based on a period-reconfigurable structure is presented. Operating at 5 GHz, the antenna consists of a slotted substrate integrated waveguide and 54 electrically small patches. Each patch element is etched with two dumbbell-shaped slots, and its operating state can be flexibly controlled by the biasing of the p-i-n diode on a parasitic strip. An ideal array model employing isotropic point sources is used for the analysis on the scanning mechanism, based on which a new method for suppressing the higher order space harmonics is developed. Using this method, the monoharmonic radiation range can be dramatically extended, and a wide-angle beam scanning can be achieved by manipulating the period length of the LWA. An FPGA controlling platform is designed for the electronic control of the antenna. The measured results validate that the proposed antenna achieves good performance of wide-angle scanning (125°) with a peak gain of 11.8 dBi at a fixed frequency.