Dielectric rod antennas array fed using substrate integrated waveguides

Development of dielectric rod antenna array to operate over a wide band with low insertion loss has previously been hindered by the complexity of the feed network and its associated significant losses. In this paper, we use an SIW structure with an optimized design fabricated on a thick substrate to minimize conductor losses. The use of optimized T-junctions and the integration of an N-type connector to GCPW feed have led to an improved performance with significant loss reduction. The feeding network has a low profile and has helped in minimizing the size of the whole array. The developed dielectric rod antenna array has high gain, narrow beamwidth in the E-plane & H-plane and relatively wide bandwidth. The developed antenna would be extremely useful for ultra wide band antenna applications such as see through walls and high precision localization.