Miniaturized V-band circularly polarized leaky-wave antenna with continuous radiation coverage using modified...

Area of Science:

• Electromagnetics and Antennas
• Microwave Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Conventional half-mode substrate integrated waveguides (HMSIWs) often require complex fabrication processes.
• Achieving wide-angle beam scanning with circular polarization in miniaturized antennas remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a miniaturized V-band leaky-wave antenna (LWA) with circular polarization and backward-broadside-forward radiation.
• To demonstrate a low-cost, fully-planar fabrication method using a modified HMSIW (M-HMSIW) structure.

Main Methods:

• The proposed LWA utilizes a modified half-mode substrate integrated waveguide (M-HMSIW) incorporating broadside coupled complementary split ring resonators instead of metallic vias.
• Each unit cell combines the M-HMSIW with horizontal stubs and a cross-shaped complementary electric LC slot to achieve circular polarization and composite right/left-handed properties.
• This design enables a balanced unit cell condition for continuous backward-to-forward scanning.

Main Results:

• The miniaturized LWA, with a radiator length of 3.8 λ₀, achieves wide-angle beam scanning from -53° to +54° across a 61.2–73.4 GHz frequency range.
• Excellent circular polarization is maintained between -25° and 25°.
• A maximum gain of 11.1 dB was recorded, demonstrating satisfactory performance for a compact antenna.

Conclusions:

• The developed M-HMSIW based LWA offers a cost-effective and planar solution for V-band applications requiring wide-angle, circularly polarized beam scanning.
• Experimental verification confirms the antenna's performance, showing close agreement with simulation results.
• This design advances miniaturized antenna technology for high-frequency communication systems.