Influence of the Finite Slot Thickness on RLSA Antenna Design

In this communication, we consider the effect of the thickness of the plate where slots are cut into, with reference to the design of a radial line slot array antenna. We show that the zero-thickness approximation results in a significant lack of accuracy even though the slot thickness is of the order of one-thirtieth of the wavelength. Then, we investigate and compare the accuracy and the efficiency of various approximate numerical techniques that can be conveniently employed in the full-wave analysis and optimization process of the antenna.