Low-Profile True-Time-Delay Beamsteerable Leaky-Wave Antenna for Satellite Applications in the K Band

In this work, a low-profile center-fed leaky-wave antenna (LWA) is proposed, which combines the full-space beam-scanning capabilities of transmitarrays and the low-profile nature of LWAs. A true-time-delay (TTD) phase-shifting mechanism is used, where a variable length stripline inside the unit cell yields more than 540(?) of phase range. The 2564-element array generates a pencil beam that may be designed for steering to arbitrary angles. A gain of 27.8 dBi is measured at broadside, while this value measures 22.2 dBi at the representative off-broadside angle of ?(0) = 30(?) at the design frequency of 19.5 GHz. The proposed antenna is low profile, with a thickness of 1.6 mm (approximately ?/10 at the design frequency) mounted on top of a radial feed waveguide possessing an 8 mm (approximately ?/2) height.

Automated summary

This work presents a low-profile center-fed leaky-wave antenna (LWA) that combines the full-space beam-scanning capabilities of transmitarrays and the low-profile nature of LWAs. A true-time-delay (TTD) phase-shifting mechanism is used to achieve a phase range of more than 540°. The proposed antenna consists of a 2564-element array that generates a pencil beam that can be steered to arbitrary angles.