Application of the high-gain substrate-superstrate configuration to dielectric leaky-wave antennas

The high-gain substrate-superstrate configuration, which was proposed to increase the gain in printed circuit antennas, is applied to dielectric leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) to improve its frequency response. Analysis of a slitted suspended dielectric rectangular waveguide is carried out using a full-wave method. It is proved that the minimum values of the leakage constant of the leaky-wave mode for the suspended configuration are related to the high-gain resonance conditions. Moreover, it is found that the suspended LWA exhibits very small beamwidth variations in a large frequency bandwidth. It is well-known that inhomogeneous filled LWAs suffer from variation of beamwidth as the angle of maximum radiation is scanned with frequency. The proposed topology can be adjusted so that a flat response of the beamwidth can be obtained in a large frequency band, while maintaining the frequency-scanning behavior of the LWA.     

Miniaturization of substrate integrated waveguide filters using novel compact metamaterial unit-cells based on SIR technique

In this paper, three novel compact metamaterial unit-cells are proposed. The proposed unit-cells are based on the concept of the stepped-impedance resonator (SIR) technique which are used to miniaturize the physical size of the conventional complementary split ring resonators (CSRRs). The proposed metamaterial unit-cells consists of two modified rings so that in these unit-cells, the slot lines in the conventional CSRRs are replaced by the stepped-impedance slot lines. The electrical size of the proposed unit-cells called the SIR-CSRR are larger than the conventional CSRR. To investigate the performance of the proposed SIR-CSRR unit-cells in the size reduction, three substrate integrated waveguide filters loaded by SIR-CSRR unit-cells with different configurations are designed. By loading the SIR-CSRRs on the surface of the waveguide, an additional forward-wave passband propagating below the initial cut-off frequency of the waveguide is produced. Consequently, by using the proposed SIR-CSRR unit-cells instead of the conventional CSRRs, miniaturization with arbitrary ratio are achieved. In order to validate the proposed miniaturization technique, the designed filters are fabricated and measurement results are provided. Good agreement between simulation and measurement results are achieved.     

Microstrip Leaky-Wave Antenna With Control of Leakage Rate and Only One Main Beam in the Azimuthal Plane

An original leaky-wave antenna (LWA), conceived from a microstrip line which is laterally shielded by parallel plates, is presented in this paper. This structure shows, for the first time, that the leakage rate of a microstrip leaky-mode can be easily controlled while negligibly affecting the pointing direction. The antenna is based on the radiation from the second higher order mode of the microstrip line, which is perturbed by the addition of the two conductor walls to control the level of the leakage rate. The parallel-plates also serve as a mechanism to obtain a single main beam in the azimuthal plane, therefore improving the radiation pattern compared to common dual-beam second-higher order mode microstrip LWAs. The proposed antenna is analyzed by obtaining the corresponding leaky-mode complex propagation constant, which is calculated by a specific method of moments approach. The modal results obtained from the leaky-mode dispersion curves are validated with analysis performed on a three-dimensional structure using commercial finite element method solver. Also, a prototype is fabricated to experimentally confirm the advantages of this novel leaky-wave line source.     

A CPS Leaky-Wave Antenna With Reduced Beam Squinting Using NRI-TL Metamaterials

A reduced beam-squinting printed leaky-wave antenna (LWA) is proposed, comprising cascaded negative-refractive-index transmission-line (NRI-TL) metamaterial unit cells. Each NRI-TL unit cell is implemented in co-planar strip (CPS) technology and consists of a host TL loaded with series interdigitated capacitors and shunt meandered inductors. Periodic analysis is applied to the NRI-TL unit cell in order to extract the dispersion and Bloch impedance characteristics. Subsequently, the angular variation of the main radiated beam with frequency or ldquobeam squintingrdquo is derived, based on the expression for the Bloch propagation constant of the NRI-TL line. It is shown that by operating the LWA in the upper right-handed band where the phase and group velocities are closest to the speed of light, the beam squinting that the antenna experiences can be minimized. The theoretical performance of the LWA is verified through full-wave simulations and measurements of a fabricated prototype designed to produce a radiated beam at an angle of at GHz. This 20-element NRI-TL LWA exhibits a measured return-loss bandwidth below dB of 0.91 GHz (18.2%), and an average beam squint of 0.031/MHz. The proposed NRI-TL LWA is uniplanar, differential and broadband, and therefore suitable for integration with other microwave components and devices.     

局域波自适应时频分析特性研究

局域波自适应时频分析是处理非平稳数据较为有效的新方法.该文较系统地研究了局域波分析的瞬时频率估计、分解的物理意义、高于小波分析的时频分辨率、没有Wigner-Ville时频分布交叉项和分解二维图像的特性.     

基于复合左右手材料的圆柱共形漏波天线设计

提出了一种基于复合左右手材料的平衡式圆柱共形漏波天线。天线单元由圆柱共形介质波导构成,通过在波导上表面蚀刻矩形缝隙槽结构,在引入串联电容的同时实现电磁波能量的连续泄漏,从而得到所需要的辐射特性。同时在波导结构中采用金属化通孔,引入并联电感, 实现了电磁波的左手传输特性。所设计的天线在平衡频点 15.6 GHz 处具有良好的边射特性。所提出的复合左右手漏波天线的阻抗带宽为 4.3 GHz(13.5~17.8 GHz),在天线阻抗带宽范围内天线主波束可以从-57°连续扫描到+30°。     

Studies of suppression of the reflected wave and beam-scanning features of the antenna arrays

This paper describes a two-directional linear scanned design by integrating a short leaky-wave antenna (LWA) with aperture-coupled patch antenna arrays. This architecture proposes a technique not only having the advantage of suppressing the back-lobe due to the reflected wave in the short LWA but also producing two separate linearly scanned beams, each of them radiating in a different region of space (in both the front side and backside of the LWA). In this design, most of the reflected wave of the short LWA is coupled to the patch antenna arrays on the backside of the substrate. The phase of this coupled signal to each antenna element is adjusted by tuning the individual phase shifter in order to control electronically the patch antenna main beam in the cross plane (x<0). Meanwhile, on the front side, the main beam of the short LWA can be simultaneously scanned in the elevation plane (x>0) by changing the operating frequency. Hence, the two linear beam-scanning radiation patterns of individual direction can be created independently, including a narrow beam in the elevation plane (xy plane at x>0) at the front side and a broadside beam in the cross plane (xz plane at x<0) on the backside. The measured results show that the reflected wave of the short LWA in the proposed design is suppressed 8 dB as compared with a traditional short LWA without the aperture-coupled antenna arrays at 10.5 GHz. As a result, this novel architecture provides more flexibility both in the upward elevation plane (H plane) and the downward cross plane (backside-E plane) for possible beam-scanning applications in microwave communications and remote identification.     

2-D periodic leaky-wave Antennas-part II: slot design

The far-field radiation patterns of a two-dimensional (2-D) periodic slot leaky-wave antenna (LWA) are studied. The antenna consists of a two-dimensional periodic array of slots in a conducting plane that is printed on top of a grounded dielectric slab. The antenna is excited by a simple source such as a dipole inside the slab. Reciprocity along with the spectral-domain method is used to calculate the far-field pattern, and the radiation characteristics of the structure are investigated. A comparison between the present periodic slot LWA and a 2-D periodic patch LWA discussed in Part I is given to show the advantages of the slot antenna for certain applications. The slot LWA can achieve high directivity patterns, and a circularly-polarized version of the antenna can achieve good circular-polarization at broadside.     

2-D periodic leaky-wave antennas-part I: metal patch design

The far-field radiation characteristics of a two-dimensional (2-D) periodic leaky-wave antenna (LWA) constructed from a periodic array of metal patches on a grounded dielectric substrate is investigated. A simple dipole source is used as the excitation. Reciprocity together with a periodic spectral-domain method of moments is used to calculate the far-field pattern. Design rules for the scan angle, the substrate dielectric constant, and the periodicity are provided. Finally, a comparison of the 2-D periodic LWA and a dielectric-layer LWA is given to show the similar performance of the two antennas.     

An efficient hexagonal switched beam antenna structure based on Fabry-Perot cavity leaky-wave antenna

A novel design of switched beam antenna (SBA) system based on Fabry-Perot cavity leaky-wave antenna (FPC LWA) is designed and fabricated for base station operating in the unlicensed ISM central frequency band at 5.8 GHz of the wireless local area network (WLAN) standard. The proposed SBA is designed with hexagonal shape of FPC LWA Arrays in order to get 360° of coverage. The single element of FPC LWA array is composed of a patch antenna and covered by a Partially Reflective Surface (PRS), which is composed of a Metal Strip Grating and printed on a high permittivity Superstrate. First, the Transmission Line Model of FPC LWA is introduced to analyse and calculate the far-field components in E- and H planes by using the Transverse Equivalent Network. This approach is then compared with other full wave’s commercial software such as Ansoft HFSS and CST Microwave Studio. Second, a parametric study is performed to evaluate the effect of the angle formed by the two successive FPC LWA on the radiation efficiency of the activate sector. To examine the performance of the proposed SBA, experimental prototype was fabricated and measured. As a result, multiple orthogonal beams (six beams) of 10 dBi of gain with low Side Lobes Level and 360° of coverage are produced. This SBA structure is suitable for WLAN communication systems.     

Effect of reactive loading in microstrip leaky wave antennas

The influence of capacitors periodically soldered along the radiating edges of a leaky wave antenna (LWA) is described. As the propagation characteristics are modified, the main beam is tilted from the angle observed for the unloaded LWA. This property allows beam steering applications at a fixed frequency if bias-controlled reactances are used     

Two-dimensional scanning leaky-wave antenna by utilizing the phased array

An aperture-fed patch antenna array is connected to the open end of a short leaky-wave antenna (LWA) to demonstrate the two-dimensional beam-scanning capability in this paper. This design not only offers another radiation path of the reflected wave, but also creates another scanning radiation pattern on the back plane of the substrate. The reflected wave of the LWA is equally separated by a power divider, modulated by each varactor-tuned phase shifter, and injected into two radiating aperture-coupled antennas. The operated frequencies are tuned to control the LWA main position in the elevation plane; meanwhile, by tuning the phase difference between two phase shifters, the main beam of the aperture-coupled antenna array can be scanned in the backside E plane. Experimental result shows that the suppression of the reflected wave can be 7 dB at 10.0 GHz with a short LWA length of 6 cm (two wavelengths). The H-plane and backside E-plane scanning radiation patterns have great potential in many applications and provide more flexibility to traditional designs.     

Active dual-beam aperture-coupled leaky-wave antenna

An active aperture-coupled leaky-wave antenna (LWA) with excellent dual-beam scanning capability is presented. An X-band varactor-tuned HEMT VCO is integrated on the other plane through an aperture with the LWA. This antenna has the advantages of multi-functionability, interference shielding, and a scanning main beam. The measured main beam in the elevation plane can be continuously scanned for 20° for each beam as the HEMT VCO frequency is varied from 8.97 to 9.5 GHz. An effective isotropic radiation power of 18.89 dBm for the right beam and 19.06 dBm for the left beam is achieved     

A dual-beam asymmetrically scanning leaky-wave antenna by utilizinga HEMT resistive upconverter

A dual-beam asymmetrical scanning microstrip leaky-wave antenna (LWA) has been demonstrated in this paper. A HEMT resistive upconverter output is connected to one terminal of the LWA, and a local oscillator (LO) signal is connected to the other terminal. In this experiment, we set the LO frequency at 9.5 GHz so that the right beam is fixed at 48°. By changing the IF frequency from 0.7 GHz to 1.5 GHz, the module of the LWA can steer the left main beam of the far-field pattern from 136° to 158° (the total scanning angle of 22°). Comparisons between the measured and theoretical results indicate that the design can achieve the asymmetrically scanning capability and agree well over the tuning bandwidth of 0.8 GHz     

A Novel Miniaturized Dual-Band Substrate Integrated Waveguide Filter Using Metamaterial Unit-Cells with High Selectivity

Wireless Personal Communications - In this paper, a novel miniaturized dual-band (DB) substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) filter using metamaterial unit-cells with high selectivity is proposed....     

Aperture-coupled microstrip line leaky wave antenna with broadsidemainbeam

A microstrip first higher order leaky wave antenna (LWA), centre-fed by an aperture-coupled microstrip with a broadside mainbeam, is presented. The measured bandwidth (23% for VSWR<2:1) is in agreement with the leaky radiation band predicted. The experimental gain patterns, compared with those of a patch antenna fed by the same type of structure, reveal the difference between these two kinds of antenna. With increasing frequency, the radiation field of the LWA spreads into the H-plane, forming a flatter broadside pattern, which can be applied to long rectangular area communication     

New CRLH-Based Planar Slotted Antennas with Helical Inductors for Wireless Communication Systems,RF-Circuits and Microwave Devices at UHF–SHF Bands

Two novel planar slotted-antennas (PSAs) are presented that exhibit good radiation characteristics at the UHF–SHF bands. The proposed antennas are constructed using metamaterial unit-cells constituted from capacitive slots etched in the radiating patch and grounded spiral shaped inductive stubs. The proposed PSA design is fabricated on a commercially available dielectric substrate, i.e. Rogers RO4003 with permittivity of 3.38 and thickness of 1.6 mm. The first PSA comprising five symmetrical unit-cells of slot–inductor–slot configuration operates over a wide bandwidth extending from 1 to 4.2 GHz with a peak gain of 1.5 dBi and efficiency of 35 % at 2 GHz. The second PSA consists of ten asymmetrical unit-cells of slot–inductor configuration on the same size of substrate as the first PSA, enhances the antenna gain by 2 dB and efficiency by 25 % and operates over 0.75–4.5 GHz. The asymmetrical unit-cell effectively increases the aperture size of the antenna without comprising its size. The electrical size of the antenna is 0.083λ₀ × 0.033λ₀ × 0.005λ₀, where free-space wavelength (λ₀) is 1 GHz.     

The Long Wavelength Array

The Long Wavelength Array (LWA) will be a new multipurpose radio telescope operating in the frequency range 10-88 MHz. Upon completion, the LWA will consist of 53 phased array ldquostationsrdquo distributed over a region about 400 km in diameter in the state of New Mexico. Each station will consist of 256 pairs of dipole-type antennas whose signals are formed into beams, with outputs transported to a central location for high-resolution aperture synthesis imaging. The resulting image sensitivity is estimated to be a few millijanskys (5 sigma, 8 MHz, two polarizations, 1 h, zenith) in 20-80 MHz; with resolution and field of view of (8 ^', 8^deg) and (2^', 2 ^deg) at 20 and 80 MHz, respectively. Notable engineering features of the instrument, demonstrated in this paper, include Galactic-noise limited active antennas and direct sampling digitization of the entire tuning range. This paper also summarizes the LWA science goals, specifications, and analysis leading to top-level design decisions.     

Beam-switchable scanning leaky-wave antenna

A beam-switchable scanning leaky-wave antenna (LWA) has been developed. This LWA with a two-terminal feeding microstrip line structure is integrated with a single port double throw (SPDT) switch as a control circuit. In dual-beam mode, the scanning angle is steered over a range of 36-64° for the right-hand beam and 144-116° for the left-hand beam. In one-beam mode, the scanning angle is measured over 20° for the right-hand beam. The measured result shows that we can change from the one-beam mode to the dual-beam mode electronically by controlling the on/off status of an SPDT switch, in contrast to the case for traditional leaky-wave antennas     

二维局域波分析在图像消噪中的应用研究

 本文研究了局域波分析的二维分解算法,实现了二维Hilbert-Huang变换的分解方法,清晰地分解出图像的细节.同时在去除图像噪声应用中,与小波分析进行了对比,取得了满意的效果,从而拓宽了Hilbert-Huang变换的应用范围.