A study of slotline leaky-wave antennas

The results of an experimental investigation of several millimeter-wave slotline leaky-wave antennas at 94 GHz are given. The experimental results show how variations in the transverse slot geometry affect the radiation pattern. Additionally, slot geometry variations also change the polarization performance of the antenna. The narrow transverse slot array was more sensitive to a perpendicularly (E_y-E_z) polarized electric field than the wide slot case. Also, the change in the effective phase constant along the antenna with changing slot dimensions caused a noticeable shift in the angle of the main beams. However, the beamwidths for all cases remained about the same. A simple model is presented to explain this. For designing an antenna of this form, the effective phase constant, β, can be approximately determined using a numerical analysis of the uniform slot problem. Given β and the operating frequency and the scanning ranges, the element spacing can be determined. The attenuation constant does not change much when the transverse slot widths are varied. If greater sensitivity to an E _y-E_z polarized wave is desired, the transverse slots should be narrow