La Sapienza University of Rome

Roma, February 25
th
, 2005
Paolo Burghignoli
European School of Antennas
High-frequency Techniques and Travelling-wave antennas
LINEAR ARRAYS
OF LEAKY-WAVE LINE SOURCES
SUMMARY
Linear arrays of leaky-wave antennas: description and
examples
Array analysis in the unit cell; main radiative features
(effect of a phase-shift between elements, conical beam
scanning, grating lobes)
An example: linear arrays of microstrip LWAs
LINEAR ARRAYS OF LEAKY-WAVE LINE SOURCES:
DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES
GEOMETRY OF THE IDEAL ARRAY
Direction of periodicity
Direction of leaky-wave
propagation
x
z

z
jk z
e

Phase shift
between adjacent elements
OPERATING PRINCIPLE (1)
x
z
z
jk z
e

Fan beam
Pencil beam
y
OPERATING PRINCIPLE (2)
x
z
y
Scan in elevation
by varying frequency
Scan in azimuth
by varying phase shift

EXAMPLES (1)
z
Slotted rectangular waveguide
z
z
jk z
e

Linear array
EXAMPLES (2)
z
Bisected NRD guide
Linear array
z
PEC
dielectric
z
jk z
e

EXAMPLES (3)
PEC
z
Microstrip operating on its
higher-order EH
1
mode
z
z
jk z
e

Linear array
ARRAY ANALYSIS AND MAIN RADIATIVE FEATURES
UNIT-CELL APPROACH
Radiating structure
Air
x
Phase-shift walls
y
The phase-shift between adjacent unit cells is established by the excitation.
It is not an unknown. The unknown is the leaky-wave propagation constant:
( ) ,
z z
k k f =

d
PROPERTIES OF THE UNIT-CELL WAVEGUIDE
The Floquet expansion in space harmonics corresponds to the modal
expansion in a PPW with phase shift walls
0 x
k d =
( )
( ) 0
2
z
x
n
j
jk z
d
n
n
k
e y e

+
+

=
=

E e
( )
yn
jk y
n n
y e

= e e
2 2 2 2
0 yn xn z
k k k k =
In air:
z z z
k j =
Usually so that
z z
<<
z z
k
SPACE HARMONICS AS PLANE WAVES
2 2 2 2
0 yn xn z
k k k k =
Each mode corresponds to a plane wave propagating at an angle to both
the x and z directions

x
y
z
xn
k
yn
k
z
k
If , then the plane wave propagates in air along y
2
0
yn
k >
Radiated beam
0 z z
k k < Hyp:
GRATING LOBES (1)
0 z z
k k < Hyp:
0
0
x
k d = =
2
0
0
y
k >
We generally wish to operate the system so that only one beamis radiated,
and we need to know the value of period d to avoid the second mode being
above cutoff in the unit-cell waveguide:
1 : n =
( )
2
2 2 2
, 1 0 0
2
0
y z x
k k k k
d

=
0
1/2
2
0
0 0
1
z x
d
k k
k k

Assuming , this is
the next mode
to go above cutoff
0
0
x
k >
GRATING LOBES (2)
Special cases:
When (no leaky-wave propagation along z) 0
z
k =
0
0
0
1
x
d
k
k

+
0
d (broadside: )
0
0
x
k =
0
2
d

(endfire: )
0 0 x
k k =
When (leaky-wave propagation along z) the period may be further
increased with respect to the case before a grating lobe appears
0
z
k =
0
z
k >
0 0
1/2
2
0
0
0
0 0
1
1
x
z x
d
k
k k
k
k k

>


+

CONICAL SCAN (1)
x
z
z
k
y
Assuming that the leaky-mode propagation constant does not depend
on the phase shift :
z
k

By varying the phase shift, the beam describes a conical surface

c

0
sin
z c
k k =
CONICAL SCAN (2)
Pointing angles as a function of the transverse and longitudinal wavenumbers
1
tan
xn
M
z

x
z
xn
k
z
k
1/2
2 2
1
0 0
sin
z xn
M
k k

= +










y
SPACE HARMONICS: SPECTRAL PROPERTIES
2 2 2
0 yn xn z
k k k k =
Im 0
yn
k

<

Im 0
yn
k

>

(proper)
(improper)
A modal solution is physical (i.e., the relevant pole is captured in a SDP
representation of the field along the array plane) if its phase constant
is less than the real part of all the branch points on the positive real axis
associated to the improper space harmonics
2 2
0
n
BP
z xn
k k k = An infinite number of branch points
z

0
BP
z
k
n
BP
z
k
[ ] Re
z
k
[ ] Im
z
k
physical leaky pole
with the n=0 space harmonic
improper
THE
x
-
z
PLANE (1)
z

2
d

0
k
0
k
Ideal conical scan
n = 0
visible space
n = 1
visible space
2 2 2
0 xn z
k + nth visible space:
(circles)
0
2
d

<
End of scanning
They are also the loci of the branch points
THE
x
-
z
PLANE (2)
z

2
d

0
k
0
k
No grating lobes
n = 0
visible space
n = 1
visible space
0
2
d

>
Here a physical leaky mode
(with the n = 0 and n = 1space harmonics improper)
radiates two beams
LINEAR ARRAYS OF MICROSTRIP LWAs
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0 30 60 90 120 150 180

z
/k
0
()

z
/k
0

z
/k
0

z
/k
0
CONICAL BEAM SCANNING
Nearly conical 2D
scanning process
Progressive lowering of
the attenuation constant
z
x
y
f = 12.2 GHz; d/
0
= 0.73;
r
= 10.2; h = 0.635 mm
LEAKY-TO-SURFACE WAVE TRANSITION
At the end of scanning, the radiated beam hits the plane of the array,
and then, after a transition region, it evolves into a surface wave, which
propagates at an angle with respect to the microstrip lines.
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
n=0 visible space edge n=-1 visible space edge
/k
0
()
0.72
0.73
0.74
0.75
0.76
0.77
0.78
0
0.007
0.014
0.021
0.028
0.035
0.042
170 172 174 176 178 180
/k
0
/k
0
n=0 visible space edge
Real Proper
Real Improper (n=0)
Complex Improper (n=0)
Normalised Phase
Constant
Normalised Attenuation
Constant
Complex Improper (n=0)
()
The phase constant
varies as the phase shift
is increased
The phase-constant
curve does not enter the
visible space of the n = -1
spatial harmonic:
there does not seem to
be any grating lobe
f = 11.5 GHz; d = 22 mm; d/
0
= 0.84
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0 30 60 90 120 150 180
n=0 visible space edge
n=-1 visible space edge
Complex Improper (n=0)
Normalised Phase Constant Normalised Attenuation Constant
Complex Improper (n=0)
/k
0
/k
0
()
EFFECT OF INCREASING THE ARRAY SPACING
A new leaky mode appears, with both the n = 0 and n = -1 spatial
harmonics improper
The new mode is physical only when its phase-constant curve
enters the common region between the visible spaces for the n = 0 and n = -1
spatial harmonics, giving rise to a second radiated beam(grating lobe).
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0 30 60 90 120 150 180
n=0 improper harmonic
n=0, -1 improper harmonics
n=0 visible space edge
n=-1 visible space edge
()
/k
0
f =11.5 GHz
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0 30 60 90 120 150 180
f =11.5 GHz
/k
0
n=0 improper harmonic
n=0, -1 improper harmonics
()
GRATING LOBES: A NEW LEAKY MODE
A. A. Oliner, Leaky-Wave Antennas, in R. C. J ohnson (Ed.), Antenna
Engineering Handbook, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993.
A. A. Oliner, Principal Investigator, Scannable millimeter-wave arrays,
Polytechnic University, New York, Final Report on RADC Contract no.
F19628-84-K-0025, 1988.
P. Baccarelli, P. Burghignoli, F. Frezza, A. Galli, and P. Lampariello, Novel
modal properties and relevant scanning behaviors of linear arrays of
microstrip leaky-wave antennas, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. 51,
n. 12, pp. 3228-3238, Dec. 2003.
REFERENCES