A novel leaky-wave antenna combining an image NRD guide and a strip circuit

摘要

This letter presents a novel leaky-wave antenna whichcombines an image NRD (nonradiative dielectric) guide and aprinted strip circuit. The proposed structure allows for an easier,cheaper and more flexible tapering mechanism than all previousleaky-wave antennas in NRD technology. The working mechanismis explained, and two different tapering strip-circuit topologiesare proposed. Cosine tapered illuminations are designed using atwo-dimensional leaky-mode analysis technique. Simulations withhigh-frequency structure simulator (HFSS) three-dimensionalanalysis are presented for validation purposes. Also, the influenceof the feeding transitions for each printed-circuit design is studied.Results show the feasibility of one of the proposed designs, leadingto a tapered radiation pattern with sidelobes level below 20 dB.