Analytical and experimental investigations of aperture coupled unidirectional dielectric radiator arrays (UDRA)

Experimental and analytical investigations of unidirectional dielectric radiator arrays (UDRA) are presented for the first time. Attractive electrical performance due to the use of nonradiating dielectric waveguide (NRD) structures is demonstrated. A numerical model based on a cavity-resonator approximation is developed for prediction of radiation properties of the UDRA´s. Good agreement between measurements and calculations shows the validity of the modeling approach. On the other hand, the feed technique for the UDRA by microstrip line and coupling-aperture is experimentally investigated. Measurement results show high coupling and radiation efficiencies of the proposed excitation method. Such a circuit configuration allows the combination of planar millimeter-wave M(H)MICs and NRD components in one system for the best use of different technologies