Directive 2-D Beam Steering by Means of a Multiport Radially Periodic Leaky-Wave Antenna

A multifed radially periodic two-dimensional leaky-wave antenna is proposed for the generation of a directional beam continuously scanning in elevation by changing the frequency, and over a discrete number of directions in azimuth when activating different elements of the feeding system. The structu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation 2021-05, Vol.69 (5), p.2494-2506
Main Authors: Comite, Davide, Kuznetcov, Maksim, Buendia, Victoria Gomez-Guillamon, Podilchak, Symon K., Baccarelli, Paolo, Burghignoli, Paolo, Galli, Alessandro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antenna arrays
Antennas
Apertures
Azimuth
Beam steering
Connectors
Dielectrics
High gain
Leaky waves
leaky-wave antennas
Metals
pencil beams
Perturbation
Probes
Scanning
Surface waves
tapered leaky waves
Wave propagation
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Description
Summary:A multifed radially periodic two-dimensional leaky-wave antenna is proposed for the generation of a directional beam continuously scanning in elevation by changing the frequency, and over a discrete number of directions in azimuth when activating different elements of the feeding system. The structure is planar and constituted by a circular grounded dielectric slab loaded with microstrip rings, properly positioned around the sources to support the propagation of an angularly directional surface wave over a sector determined by the corresponding activated feeder. This produces a perturbation of the surface wave, resulting in the generation of a directional leaky wave over the aperture, whose complex propagation constant is described by a single fast backward spatial harmonic. The antenna radiation features are numerically investigated in conjunction with the dispersion analysis of the structure, validated through a conventional generalized-pencil-of-function approach. Full-wave simulations have been developed to design a practical feeder, which is constituted by a circular arrangement of commercial coaxial connectors. The proposed multiport antenna is validated by means of measurements performed on a microwave manufactured prototype. The design represents an attractive simple and cost-effective solution to achieve a high-gain beam scanning over the three-dimensional space, alternative to more conventional phased-array design based on cumbersome and lossy feeding networks.
ISSN:0018-926X
1558-2221
DOI:10.1109/TAP.2020.3030994