Slot Array Antenna Research Articles

A Generalized Flat-Topped Beam Synthesis Approach for Uniform Linear Array With Arbitrary Beam Directions

A systematic approach to synthesize the flat-topped beam (FTB) with arbitrary beam directions for uniform linear arrays (ULAs) is proposed, illustrated, and demonstrated. Based on the correspondence between the far-field pattern of ULAs and the response function of finite impulse response (FIR) filters, both the broadside and end-fire FTBs can be synthesized using window method, whereas the oblique FTB synthesis is failed due to the appearance of grating lobes. A mathematical analyzation indicates that two grating lobes are conjugate to each other. Thus, a linear phase method (LPM) is proposed to apply progressive excitation phases to each individual array element, which can eliminate the grating lobes by manipulating the two conjugate beams to overlap with each other. The proposed LPM is generalized to the synthesis of broadside, oblique and unidirectional end-fire FTBs, and the corresponding inter-element spacing constraints are addressed. The proposed approach is experimentally verified using a 16-element substrate-integrated waveguide slot antenna array. Comparing with the conventional Fourier series method and Woodward-Lawson method, the proposed approach has advantages of both smaller ripples in the main beam and controllable side-lobe levels. The proposed approach is promising for offering efficient beamforming functionalities for wireless communications, imaging, and radar applications.

W‐band ridge gap waveguide slot array antenna with low sidelobe and high‐gain characteristics

AbstractIn this letter, a W‐band slot array antenna based on ridge gap waveguide (RGW) with low sidelobe and high‐gain characteristics has been proposed. It adopts a series and parallel hybrid feeding network to realize low sidelobe levels in E‐ and H‐plane, respectively. The tunable pins and large power ratio dividers are introduced in the distribution network, which improves the phase consistency and brings flexibility to amplitude‐tapering. The proposed antenna overcomes the shortcomings of grating lobes caused by quasi‐Taylor distribution of conventional slot array with backed cavities. The prototype of a 16 × 18 slot array is fabricated and measured. The measured impedance bandwidth is from 81.2 to 86 GHz, and the peak gain is higher than 29.4 dBi with the sidelobe levels (SLLs) of −19.7 dB and −30 dB on E‐ and H‐plane, respectively.

Low-RCS Antenna Array With Switchable Scattering Patterns Employing Microfluidic Liquid Metal Alloy-Based Metasurface

In this communication, the liquid metal alloy (LMA) is utilized to design a metasurface with switchable reflection phases, which serves as the superstrate of an antenna array to manipulate its scattering features. The proposed metasurface is composed of a silicone rubber etched with microfluidic channels. Hence, its electromagnetic properties can be controlled by the filling of LMA. Simulated results reveal that the injection of LMA shifts the phase of waves reflected from the proposed metasurface by 180° ranging from 8 to 32 GHz. Then, the proposed metasurface covers a slot antenna array to regulate its scattering characteristic. By arranging the filling of LMA with various configurations, the scattering pattern can be switched among four different states with a slight influence on its radiation performance. Fulfilling all microfluidic channels with air, the reference antenna has a normal scattering pattern like a metallic plate. Moreover, by switching the filling area of LMA, monostatic radar cross-section (RCS) reduction is realized in three of these four working states. Finally, we had processed and tested a demonstrated prototype of the slot antenna array along with the proposed metasurface superstrate. Measured results are consistent well with the simulation. An implication of this research is the possibility that manipulating the scattering features of an antenna array without influences on its radiation characteristics by employing LMA.

Unequal Power Divider Based on Inverted Microstrip Gap Waveguide and Its Application for Low Sidelobe Slot Array Antenna at 39 GHz

This article presents a novel unequal power divider based on an inverted microstrip gap waveguide. This new geometry can achieve a large power ratio of the two output ports and a small phase difference less than 5°. Based on this novel geometry, a few distinctive unequal power dividers with different output power ratios were proposed for designing a low sidelobe array antenna at 39 GHz. To verify the design, a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$16\times 16$ </tex-math></inline-formula> antenna array was designed and measured. The measurement results indicate that the entire array antenna achieves a −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 18.5% (in the range of 35.9–43.2 GHz), a gain greater than 29 dBi from 37.5 to 41.8 GHz, and an antenna efficiency greater than 50% over the entire operating frequency band. Based on the application of the newly invented distribution network, the proposed array antenna is below −23 dB on both the E- and H-planes at 37–42 GHz. Furthermore, the radiation pattern of the entire array complies with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)-Class II standard for all azimuth angles.

Design of a Dual-Linearly Polarized Endfire Antenna

In this article, a dual-linearly polarized endfire antenna is proposed with high gain and stable radiation patterns. A double-sided slot array antenna (DSSAA) and a corrugated rectangular metal strip (CRMS) are employed to realize vertical and horizontal polarization (HP), respectively. Omnidirectional radiation pattern is obtained by etching transverse slots on both sides of the top and bottom metallic plates of a cavity. Based on the double-sided slot antenna, a DSSAA is proposed and fed by an air-substrate parallel strip line (PSL) for stable endfire radiation patterns. Then, the top plate of the DSSAA is reused as a CRMS for HP and compact size. To verify this concept, an all-metal prototype was fabricated and measured. Both the simulation and experimental results show that the DSSAA and the CRMS could offer the highest endfire gains of 12.5 and 12.9 dB, respectively, within a footprint of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3.47\lambda _{0} \times 0.72\lambda _{0} \times 0.13\lambda _{0}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda _{0}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is the free-space wavelength at the center frequency). Moreover, an overlapping bandwidth of 7.6% is realized with <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\vert S_{11}\vert &lt; -10$ </tex-math></inline-formula> dB, gain variation less than 3 dB. This work may provide useful references for designing dual-polarized endfire antennas with stable radiation patterns, high gain, and compact size.

Characteristics of 6 × 26 Slotted Waveguide Array Antenna for Wave Monitoring Radar System

This paper presents the characteristics of a 6 × 26 slotted waveguide array antenna for a wave monitoring radar system. The proposed antenna was designed as a double-layer structure that operated in the Ku-band and combined the radiating antenna and feeding antenna structures to secure a broad bandwidth. To realize the high-gain properties of the antenna and the beamwidth control, parameters such as the resonance slot length, width, offset, and angle of the feeding slot placed on the broad wall were precisely calculated using the iteration. The measured results for the voltage standing wave ratio, radiation patterns, half-power beamwidth, and peak gains of the 6 × 26 slotted waveguide array antenna agreed well with the simulated results.

Spectral Characteristics of the Double-Folded Slot Antennas with Cold-Electron Bolometers for the 220/240 GHz Channels of the LSPE Instrument

We present the results of the experimental and theoretical study of the resonant properties and noise of a single cell of a receiving system based on cold-electron bolometers (CEB) with a double-folded slot antenna and coplanar lines. The system was designed to receive signals at 220/240 GHz frequencies with a 5% bandwidth. In measurements, we used the samples of the double-folded slot antennas with slot lengths of 162 um and coplanar line lengths from 185 to 360 um. Measurements of the resonance properties of CEB located at 0.3 K cryostat plate were carried out using a generator based on a high-temperature YBCO Josephson junction located inside the same cryostat at 4 K plate. This arrangement made it possible to obtain smooth amplitude-frequency characteristics with a clearly defined peak of a 15–21 GHz bandwidth at different frequencies. Based on these results, 2-D array of double-folded slot antennas with CEBs as 220/240 GHz LSPE channel prototype was calculated.The absorption efficiency of the array has reached 81% and 77% for 220 and 240 GHz channels, respectively.

W-Band Low-SLL Size-Reduction Microwaveguide Array Antenna Using TE120-Mode-Cavity Dual-Layer Power Divider

In this letter a W -band small-size low sidelobe level (SLL) 6 × 16 microwaveguide slot array antenna is proposed based on the silicon micromachining technology. The feeding network within the limited available area consists of several stages of equal T-junctions and TE120-mode-cavity dual-layer power dividers able to build the desired tapering power distribution over a relatively wide bandwidth. The TE120-mode-cavity dual-layer power divider is at the end of the feeding network, which can implement the layer-to-layer transition and the power division simultaneously. Thus, the whole size of the array antenna can be reduced by about 25% compared with the conventional five-stage tree-like feeding network. The overall antenna size is 60 mm × 20 mm × 1.85 mm. The measured maximum gain is 26.1 dBi at 94 GHz, and the corresponding radiation efficiency is 69.2%. The measured SLL in E -plane is below than −18.5 dB within the frequency band from 92 to 96 GHz.

A dual-beam lens-free slot-array antenna coupled high-T c superconducting fundamental mixer at the W-band

This paper presents a W-band high-T c superconducting (HTS) Josephson-junction fundamental mixer which is coupled using a dual-beam lens-free slot-array antenna. The antenna features a uniplanar six-element slot array fed by an ungrounded coplanar waveguide line, of which each element is a long slot loaded by four rectangular loops. Highly directional radiation is therefore realized by utilizing the long slots and array synthesis to form a relatively large antenna aperture. The antenna also enables asymmetric dual-beam radiation in opposite directions, which not only reduces the RF coupling losses but greatly facilitates the quasi-optics design for the integration of the HTS mixer into a cryocooler. The electromagnetic simulations show that a coupling efficiency as high as −2.2 dB, a realized gain of 13 dB and a front-to-back ratio of 10 dB are achieved at the frequency of 84 GHz. Using this on-chip antenna, a W-band HTS fundamental mixer module is experimentally developed and characterized for different operating temperatures. The measured conversion gain is −10 dB at 20 K and −14.6 dB at 40 K, respectively. The mixer noise temperature is predicted to be around 780 K at 20 K and 1600 K at 40 K, respectively. It is also analyzed that the mixer performance can be further improved if the Josephson junction parameters were optimized.

Bandwidth-Enhanced High-Gain Full-Metal Filtering Slot Antenna Array Using TE101 and TE301 Cavity Modes

In this letter, a bandwidth-enhanced high-gain full-metal cavity-backed filtering slot antenna array is proposed. By replacing one radiating slot with 2 × 2 radiating slots, the enhanced gain is obtained without enlarging the antenna size. Besides, two cavity modes, i.e., TE <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">101</sub> and TE <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">301</sub> , are combined to obtain an enhanced bandwidth. Metal ridges and metal posts are employed to make the two modes close to each other. Due to a similar radiating field of the two specific cavity modes under the proper perturbation and placement of the 2 × 2 radiating slots, a high gain over the enhanced bandwidth is obtained. In addition, the high-quality factor of the two cavity modes can inherently produce a filtering performance in terms of the realized gain and efficiency. The final measurement shows that the proposed slot antenna array can achieve 6.2% bandwidth, 97% total efficiency, and 10.4–11 dBi stable realized gain with a small aperture size of 0.84 <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">λ</i> <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> . Good agreement between the simulation and measurement has well validated the proposed design concept.

Switchable T-Slot for Dual-Circularly-Polarized Slot-Array Antennas in Ka-Band

This letter presents two slotted array antennas working in the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Ka</i> -band with switchable circular polarization capability. The first prototype is a series-fed slotted-waveguide linear array composed of ten T-shaped slots. The second antenna is a 2-D array with 2 × 2 T-shaped slots fed by a corporate distribution network. In both cases, a reflection coefficient below <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$-$</tex-math></inline-formula> 10 dB has been experimentally observed within the targeted frequency band between 29.5 and 30.5 GHz. Good polarization purity is achieved for both polarization senses and in both prototypes. The fundamental contribution of this letter is to propose a simple mechanism to switch the circular polarization sense in a low-cost, low-profile, and high-efficient antenna. The design and experimental results confirm that the solution is suitable for both one- and two-dimensional arrays in the millimeter-wave band.

The technique to design multibeam Radial Line Slot Array (RLSA) antennas

The Technique, to design multibeam Radial Line Slot Array (RLSA) antennas optimally, was proposed in this study, using high beam squint values to produce more slots. This is necessary to maintain gain, which dropped due to the beam splitting. A gap was also incorporated between the slots group to overcome a coupling between adjacent beams which can lessen gains. RLSA models for 42 dual and 42 triple-beams were simulated after which a prototype for each was measured to verify the simulation. The results showed the possibility of obtaining multibeam antennas with similar symmetrical beams in terms of beamwidth, gain, and direction. The gains obtained were 13.5 dBi for the dual-beam and 10.5 dBi for the triple-beam, indicating a difference of 3 and 4.77 dB, respectively, with the single-beam antennas, thereby, making them suitable for the theory of beam splitting. The antennas also have sufficient bandwidth and a good reflection coefficient.

Design of RCS Reduction Applied to W-Band Circularly Polarized Antenna Array

A single-layer capsule-shaped polarization conversion metasurface (PCM) is proposed in this paper. In the W-band, its polarization conversion rate (PCR) exceeds 97%, effectively changing the polarization direction of the incident wave. PCM is arranged in a chessboard array to achieve broadband RCS reduction. Placing the PCM array on a circularly polarized sequentially rotated slot antenna array, simulated results show that the radiation characteristics of the antenna array are hardly affected by the PCM array. The results of measurement demonstrate that the RCS of the antenna array with PCM array proposed is reduced by more than 10 dB from 40 to 119 GHz; the relative bandwidth (−10 dB) reaches 96.3%.

Efficient SIW-Feed Network Suppressing Mutual Coupling of Slot Antenna Array

In this communication, an effective method to suppress mutual coupling between two substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) slot antenna arrays is presented. To achieve that, a decoupling feed network is used. The feed network is composed of a two-layer directional coupler that is connected to two SIW-slot antenna arrays directly to establish an indirect coupling with controlled magnitude and phase, which can effectively reduce the direct coupling generated by surface waves between the array elements. A 2 ×4 array of slot antenna as well as the proposed decoupling network is designed, fabricated, and measured to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. The measured and simulated results verified the good decoupling performance. The measured mutual coupling is about -35 dB at the center frequency without negatively affecting the return loss and radiation patterns. The proposed mechanism of the decoupling network is simple and successfully used in SIW slot antenna arrays.

Designing an 8-Shaped Slotted Array Antenna with 2x4 Configuration for Improved Ultra-Wideband Performance : A Simulation-based Approach

The article is about the design, simulation, and characterization of a 2x4 slotted microstrip patch antenna array that is optimized for operation in the S and C frequency bands. The antenna exhibits excellent performance with low reflection, good impedance matching, high gain, and low signal loss. The paper includes plots demonstrating the antenna's performance, indicating that it is suitable for a wide range of applications requiring high-performance antenna arrays. The research contributes to the development of slotted microstrip patch antenna arrays for ultra-wideband applications and highlights the importance of optimization in antenna design. Overall, the article provides valuable insights into the design and performance of antenna arrays, offering a useful reference for future research and development in this field.

Design of an Active Beam-Steering Array With a Perforated Wide-Angle Impedance Matching Layer

In this communication, a tapered slot antenna array with a perforated wide-angle impedance matching (WAIM) layer is studied for active beam steering. To achieve the wide-angle beam scanning characteristic, a tapered slot antenna is used in the array antenna design. For active impedance matching in a wide beam-steering angle, a thin dielectric type of WAIM is introduced, and an optimal WAIM characteristic is realized by changing the effective dielectric constant by adding an air hole to the WAIM. To verify the characteristics of the designed antenna, a 16×16 array is fabricated and measured. The fabricated array shows active S-parameter characteristics of less than -9.13 dB during E-plane scanning and -9.31 dB during H-plane scanning when the beam is steered up to 70° on both planes. It was also confirmed that when the beam is steered to 70°, no scan blindness or grating lobes occur within the operating frequency.

Reconfigurable 2×1 CPW-Fed Rectangular Slot Antenna Array (RSAA) Based on Graphene for Wireless Communications

This article presents a 2×1 CPW ultra wideband rectangular slot antenna array (UWB-RSAA) with a modified circular slot shape to support a high data rate for wireless communications applications. The proposed antenna array dimensions are 0.7λ×0.8λo×0.064λo at the resonant frequency 1.8 GHz. It is fabricated on Rogers RO4003 substrate and fed by using a coplanar waveguide (CPW). A graphene layer is added on one side of the substrate to realize frequency reconfigurability and improve the array gain. The proposed array acquires -10 dB impedance bandwidth of the RSAA that extends from 1.7 GHz to 2.6 GHz, from 3.2 to 3.8 GHz, and from 5.2 GHz to 7 GHz. The proposed array achieved a realized peak gain of 7.5 dBi at 6.5 GHz at 0 Volt bias with an average gain of 4.5 dBi over the operating band. When the graphene bias is increased to 20 Volt, the antenna bandwidth extends from 1 GHz to 4 GHz and from 5 to 7 GHz with a peak gain of 14 dBi at 3.5 GHz and an average gain of 7.5 dBi. The linearly polarized operation of the proposed array over the operating bands makes it suitable for short-range wireless communications .

Ridge gap waveguide antenna array with improved mutual isolation for millimeter wave applications

Fifth-generation millimeter-wave devices with multiple antennas require minimal mutual interference for better overall performance. This article presents a simple but novel technique to improve the isolation between closely packed slot antenna arrays. A printed ridge gap waveguide (PRGW) structure is used to realize a low loss millimeter-wave array's feeding mechanism. By optimally introducing a defective upper plate within the PRGW structure, the measured port isolation of the antenna elements is improved by 17 dB at 61.3 GHz. The antenna array is impedance matched to the feeding PRGW structure over a wide frequency range of 54–67 GHz. Moreover, the radiation patterns are consistent showing broadside radiation before and after introducing the defect in the PRGW structure. The fabricated prototype of the PRGW fed slot antenna array validated the predicted isolation and return-loss bandwidths of the proposed radiating system.

Circularly‐polarized cavity‐backed slot antenna array with simplified feeding structure

A class of circularly-polarized cavity-backed slot antenna arrays with simplified feeding structure are proposed. Power dividing network is an essential feeding structure for the design of conventional antenna arrays, which results in complicated antenna structure. A novel feeding technique based on the electric field of cavity modes is introduced to feed the array elements. The slots on the top wall are directly fed by the electric field without additional feeding structure. Crossed slots with different lengths are introduced to achieve the self-phased CP radiation as they produce different perturbation on the two degenerate cavity modes. Therefore, high efficiency and simple antenna structure of the CP slot antenna array are achieved. Then, two CP slot arrays with 3 × 3 and 8 × 8 elements are presented to show the designed feasibility. Finally, the 3 × 3 CP antenna array is fabricated and measured to validate the design concept, which can achieve 12.6 dBic gain, 94% total efficiency, 80% aperture efficiency, and −25 dB cross polarization.

Development of a wideband hexagonal SIW cavity-backed slot antenna array

In this paper a novel wideband hexagonal cavity-backed slot antenna array using two sots including Resonant Narrow Slot (RNS) and Non-Resonant Wide Slots (NRWS) based on Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) is proposed. First, a single element low profile wideband linearly polarized cavity-backed antenna using two slots is designed and analyzed. The antenna bandwidth is increased by NRWS, which makes both hybrid modes of TM110 and TM210 close to each other to be excited. Then, to improve antenna gain, an array of two elements cavity-backed slot including is designed and investigated. Moreover, in order to match the input impedance over the operating bandwidth, a special power divider using tapered line is introduced. The proposed single element and antenna array is made and successfully tested. The simulation and measurement results are in a good agreement for both single and antenna array. The measured gain and impedance bandwidth are 12 dBi and 14% respectively for the designed array.