Leaky-Wave Antenna with Beam Steering Capability Based on a Meandered Metallic Waveguide

We present a new concept for beam steering from the backward to the forward quadrant, at a fixed frequency, that minimizes the need for active, reconfigurable RF components. The compact structure may enable significant cost reductions and improved antenna efficiency when compared to more conventional beam steering approaches. The proposed 1-D leaky-wave antenna is a meandered metallic waveguide, embedded within a cavity exploiting the radiation from higher order Floquet space harmonics. This frequency scanning principle is adapted for fixed frequency operation at 20 GHz by mechanically modifying simultaneously all the lengths of the waveguide meanders. A scan range of 100° in the elevation plane is achieved by adjusting the height of the cavity. Realized gain values higher than 10 dBi are observed. We present here the theoretical principles for the design of such a fixed frequency, beam steering antenna and the corresponding results are validated by a commercial full-wave simulator and measurements of initial two prototypes.