Introduction to Traveling-Wave antennas

Fabrizio Frezza March 19, 2006

Traveling-wave antennas are a class of antennas that use a traveling wave on a g
uiding structure as the main radiating mechanism. Traveling-wave antennas fall i
nto two general categories, slow-wave antennas and fast-wave antennas, which are
usually referred to as leaky-wave antennas. In slow-wave antenna, the guided wa
ve is a slow wave, meaning a wave that propagates with a phase velocity that is
less than the speed of light in free space. Such a wave does not fundamentally r
adiate by its nature, and radiation occurs only at discontinuities (typically th
e feed and the termination regions). The propagation wavenumber of the traveling
wave is therefore a real number (ignoring conductors or other losses). Because
the wave radiates only at the discontinuities, the radiation pattern physically
arises from two equivalent sources, one at the beginning and one at the end of t
he structure. This makes it di cult to obtain highly-directive singlebeam radiatio
n patterns. However, moderately directly patterns having a main beam near end re c
an be achieved, although with a signi cant sidelobe level. For these antennas ther
e is an optimum length depending on the desired location of the main beam. Examp
les include wires in free space or over a ground plane, helixes, dielectric slab
s or rods, corrugated conductors. An independent control of the beam angle and t
he beam width is not possible. By contrast, the wave on a leaky-wave antenna (LW
A) may be a fast wave, with a phase velocity greater than the speed of light. Th
is type of wave radiates continuously along its length, and hence the propagatio
n wavenumber kz is complex, consisting of both a phase and an attenuation consta
nt. Highly-directive beams at an arbitrary speci ed angle can be achieved with thi
s type of antenna, with a low sidelobe level. The phase constant β of the wave con
trols the eam angle (and this can e varied changing the frequency), while the
attenuation constant α controls the be
mwidth. The
perture distribution c
n
lso
be e
sily t
pered to control the sidelobe level or be
m sh
pe. Le
ky-w
ve
ntenn

s c
n be divided into two import
nt c
tegories, uniform
nd periodic, depending
on the type of guiding structure. A uniform structure h
s
cross section th
t
is uniform (const
nt)
long the length of the structure, usu
lly in the form of

w
veguide th
t h
s been p
rti
lly opened to
llow r
di
tion to occur. The guid
ed w
ve on the uniform structure is
f
st w
ve,
nd thus r
di
tes
s it prop
g

tes.
1
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Introduction to TWA
A periodic le
ky-w
ve
ntenn
structure is one th
t consists of
uniform struct
ure th
t supports
slow (non r
di
ting) w
ve th
t h
s been periodic
lly modul
t
ed in some f
shion. Since
slow w
ve r
di
tes
t discontinuities, the periodic
modul
tions (discontinuities) c
use the w
ve to r
di
te continuously
long the l
ength of the structure. From
more sophistic
ted point of view, the periodic mo
dul
tion cre
tes
guided w
ve th
t consists of
n in nite number of sp
ce h
rmoni
cs (Floquet modes). Although the m
in (n = 0) sp
ce h
rmonic is
slow w
ve, one
of the sp
ce h
rmonics (usu
lly the n = −1) is designed to e a fast wave, and he
nce a radiating wave. A typical example of a uniform leaky wave antenna is a rec
tangular waveguide with a longitudinal slot. This simple structure illustrates t
he asic properties common to all uniform leaky wave antennas.
2 The fundamental TE10 waveguide mode is a fast wave, with β = ko − π a lower than ko
. The radiation causes the wavenumber kz of the roagating mode within the oen
waveguide structure to become comlex. By means of an alication of the statio
nary-hase rincile, it can be found in fact that: 2
β c λo = = ko vph λg
sin θm
(1)
where θm is the ang e of maximum radiation taken from broadside. As is typica  for
a uniform LWA, the beam cannot be scanned too c ose to broadside (θm = 0), since
this corresponds to the cuto freuency of the waveguide. In addition, the beam ca
nnot be scanned too c ose to end re (θm = 90◦ ) since this reuires operation at freu
encies signi cant y above cuto , where higher-order modes can propagate, at east fo
r an air- ed waveguide. Scanning is imited to the forward uadrant on y (0 < θm <
π ), for a wave traveling in the ositive z direction. 2
Figure 1: Slotted guide (atented by W. W. Hansen in 1940) This one-dimensional
(1D) leaky-wave aerture distribution results in a “fan beam” having a narrow beam i
n the xz lane (H lane), and a broad beam in the cross-lane. A encil beam can
be created by using an array of such 1D radiators. Unlike the slow-wave structu
re, a very narrow beam can be created at any angle by choosing a su ciently small
value of α. A simple formul
for the be
m width, Europe
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Introduction to TWA
me
sured between h
lf power points (3dB), is: ∆θ
L λo
1 cos θm
(2)
where L is the ength of the eaky-wave antenna, and ∆θ is expressed in radians. For
90% of the power radiated it can be assumed: L λo 0.18
α ko
⇒ ∆θ ∝
α ko
Since le
k
ge occurs over the length of the slit in the w
veguiding structure, t
he whole length constitutes the
ntenn
’s e ective
perture unless the le
k
ge r
te
is so gre
t th
t the power h
s e ectively le
ked
w
y before re
ching the end of t
he slit. A l
rge
ttenu
tion const
nt implies
short e ective
perture, so th
t t
he r
di
ted be
m h
s
l
rge be
mwidth. Conversely,
low v
lue of α results in

long e ective
perture
nd
n
rrow be
m, provided the physic
l
perture is su cient
ly long. Since power is r
di
ted continuously
long the length, the
perture eld
of
le
kyw
ve
ntenn
with strictly uniform geometry h
s
n exponenti
l dec
y (
usu
lly slow), so th
t the sidelobe beh
vior is poor. The presence of the sidelo
bes is essenti
lly due to the f
ct th
t the structure is nite
long z. When we ch

nge the cross-section
l geometry of the guiding structure to modify the v
lue o
f α
t some point z, however, it is likely th
t the v
lue of β at that point is also
modi ed slightly. However, since β must not e changed, the geometry must e furthe
r altered to restore the value of β, there y changing α somewh
t
s well. In pr
ctic
e, this di culty m
y require
two-step process. The pr
ctice is then to v
ry the
v
lue of α slowly
long the length in
speci ed w
y while m
int
ining β constant (tha
t is the angle of maximum radiation), so as to adjust the amplitude of the apert
ure distri ution A(z) to yield the desired sidelo e performance. We can divide u
niform leaky wave antennas into air  lled ones and partially dielectric  lled ones.
In the rst case, since the transverse wavenum er kt is then a constant with frequ
ency, the eamwidth of the radiation remains exactly constant as the eam is sca
nned y varying the frequency. In fact, since: β cos θm = 1 − ko
2 2
(3)
where:
2 2 ko = k t + β 2 ⇒
β ko
2
=1−
kt ko
2
⇒ cos θm =
kt ⇒ ∆θ ko
2π λc = kt L L
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Introduction to TWA
independent of freuency. On the contrary, when the guiding structure is part y 
ed with die ectric, the transverse wavenumber kt is a function of freuency, so
that ∆θ changes as the beam is freuency scanned. On the other hand, with respect t
o freuency sensitivity, i.e., how uick y the beam ang e scans as the freuency
is varied, the part y die ectric- oaded structure can scan over a arger range
of ang es for the same freuency change and is therefore preferred.
Figure 2: Dispersion Curves (e ective refractive index) In response to reuirement
s at mi imeter wave engths, the new antennas were genera y based on ower- oss
open waveguides. One possib e mechanism to obtain radiation is foreshortening a
side. Let us consider for examp e the nonradiative die ectric guide (NRD).
Figure 3: Non Radiative Die ectric guide The spacing a between the meta  p ates
is ess than λo so that a  junctions and 2 discontinuities (a so curves) that mai
ntain symmetry become pure y reactive, instead of possessing radiative content.
When the vertica  meta  p ates in the NRD guide are
European Schoo  of Antennas
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Introduction to TWA
su cient y ong, the dominant mode e d is comp ete y bound, since it has decayed to
neg igib e va ues as it reaches the upper and ower open ends. If the upper por
tion of the p ates is foreshortened, a trave ing-wave e d of nite amp itude then e
xists a ong the ength of the upper open end, and if the dominant NRD guide mode
is fast (it can be fast or s ow depending on the freuency), power wi  be radi
ated away at an ang e from this open end. Another possib e mechanism is asymmetr
y. In the asymmetrica  NRD guide antenna the structure is rst bisected horizonta 
y to provide radiation from one end on y; since the e ectric e d is pure y verti
ca  in this midp ane, the e d structure in not a tered by the bisection.
Figure 4: Asymmetrica  Non Radiative Die ectric guide An air gap is then introdu
ced into the die ectric region to produce asymmetry. As a resu t, a sma  amount
of net horizonta  e ectric e d is created, which produces a mode in the para e 
-p ate air region, which is a TEM mode, which propagates at an ang e between the
para e  p ates unti  it reaches the open end and eaks away. It is necessary t
o maintain the para e  p ates in the air region su cient y ong that the vertica 
e ectric e d component of the origina  mode (represented in the stub guide by th
e be ow-cuto TM1 mode) has decayed to neg igib e va ues at the open end. Then the
TEM mode, with its horizonta  e ectric e d, is the on y e d eft, and the e d po a
rization is then essentia y pure (the discontinuity at the open end does not in
troduce any cross-po arized e d components). Groove guide is a ow- oss open wave
guide for mi imeter waves, somewhat simi ar to the NRD guide: the die ectric ce
ntra  region is rep aced by an air region of greater width. The e d again decays
exponentia y vertica y in the regions of narrower width above and be ow. The 
eaky-wave antenna is created by rst bisecting the o set groove guide horizonta y.
It a so resemb es a rectangu ar waveguide stub oaded. When the stub is o -centere
d, the structure wi  radiate. When the o set is increased, the attenuation consta
nt α will incre
se
nd the be
mwidth will incre
se too. When the stub is pl
ced
l
l the w
y to one end, the result is
n L-sh
ped structure th
t r
di
tes very str
ongly. In
ddition, it is found th
t the v
lue of β changes very little as the
European School of Antennas
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Introduction to TWA
Figure 5: Groove guide stu is moved, and α v
ries over
very l
rge r
nge. This f
e
ture
llows to t
per the
ntenn

perture to control sidelobes. The f
ct th
t
the L-sh
ped structure strongly le
ks m
y
lso be rel
ted to
nother le
k
ge mec
h
nism: the use of le
ky higher modes. In p
rticul
r, it m
y be found th
t
ll t
he groove-guide higher modes
re le
ky. For ex
mple, let us consider the rst high
er
ntisymmetric mode. Bec
use of the symmetry of the structure
nd the directio
ns of the electric- eld lines, the structure c
n be bisected twice to yield the L-
sh
ped.
Figure 6: Sketches showing the tr
nsition from the T E20 mode in the full groove
guide, on the left, to the L-sh
ped
ntenn
structure on the right. The tr
nsit
ion involves two successive bisections, neither of which disturb the eld distribu
tion. The
rrows represent electric eld directions. The
ntenn
m
y be
n
lyzed u
sing
tr
nsverse equiv
lent network b
sed on
T-junction network. The expressi
ons for the network elements
re in simple closed forms
nd yet
re very
ccur
t
e. Usu
lly, the stub length needs only to be
bout
h
lf w
velength or less if
the stub is n
rrow. To exploit the possibility of printed-circuit techniques,

printed-circuit version of the previous structure h
s been developed. In this w

y the f
bric
tion process could m
ke use of photolithogr
phy,
nd the t
per desi
gn for sidelobe control could be h
ndled
utom
tic
lly in the f
bric
tion. The t
r
nsverse equiv
lent network for this new
ntenn
structure is slightly more com
plic
ted th
n the previous,
nd the expressions for the network elements must be
modi ed
ppropri
tely to t
ke
Europe
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s
7
Introduction to TWA
Figure 7: Equiv
lent Tr
nsverse Tr
nsmission Network of Groove guide the dielect
ric medium into
ccount. Moreover,
bove the tr
nsformer,
n
ddition
l suscept

nce Bs
ppe
rs. The stub
nd m
in guides
re no longer the s
me, so their w
venu
mbers
nd ch
r
cteristic
dmitt
nces
re
lso di erent.
Figure 8: E ect of the structure
symmetry on the prop
g
tion ch
r
cteristics Ag
i
n, α c
n be v
ried by ch
nging the slot loc
tion d. However, it w
s found th
t
i
s
lso
good p
r
meter to ch
nge for this purpose. An interesting v
ri
tion of
the previous structures h
s been developed
nd
n
lyzed. It is b
sed on
ridge
w
veguide r
ther th
n
rect
ngul
r w
veguide. In the structures b
sed on rect
n
gul
r w
veguide, the
symmetry w
s
chieved by pl
cing the stub guide, or loc
ti
ng the longitudin
l slot, o -center on the top surf
ce. Here the top surf
ce is sy
mmetric
l,
nd the
symmetry is cre
ted by h
ving unequ
l stub lengths on e
ch s
ide under the m
in-guide portion. The tr
nsverse equiv
lent networks, together w
ith the
ssoci
ted expressions for the network elements, were
d
pted
nd extend
ed to
pply to these new structures. Europe
n School of Antenn
s
8
Introduction to TWA
Figure 9: E ect of the stub width on the ph
se
nd the
ttenu
tion const
nts An
n

lysis of the
ntenn
beh
vior indic
tes th
t this geometry e ectively permits ind
ependent control of the
ngle of m
ximum r
di
tion θm and the beamwidth ∆θ. m Let us d
e ne two geometric parameters: the re ative average arm ength ba where b  − r l +
r ∆b bm = 2 ,
nd the rel
tive unb
l
nce bm , where ∆b = 2 .
Figure 10: Ridge guide.
β m It then turns out that y changing a one can adjust the value of ko without α α

ltering ko much
nd th
t by ch
nging ∆b one c
n v
ry ko over
l
rge r
nge without
bm β a ecting ko much. The taper design for controlling the sidelo e level would th
erefore involve only the relative un alance ∆b . The tr
nsverse equiv
lent network
is slightly bm complic
ted by the presence of two
ddition
l ch
nges in height
of the w
veguide, which c
n be modeled by me
ns of shunt suscept
nces
nd ide
l
tr
nsformer. The ide
l tr
nsformer
ccounts for the ch
nge in the ch
r
cteristic
imped
nce, while the storing of re
ctive energy is t
ken into
ccount through t
he suscept
nce. Sc
nning
rr
ys
chieve sc
nning in two dimensions by cre
ting

one-dimension
l ph
sed
rr
y of le
ky-w
ve line-source
ntenn
s. The individu
l
line sources
re
Europe
n School of Antenn
s
9
Introduction to TWA
Figure 11: Equiv
lent Tr
nsverse Tr
nsmission Network of Ridge guide sc
nned in
elev
tion by v
rying the frequency. Sc
nning in the cross pl
ne,
nd therefore i
n
zimuth, is produced by ph
se shifters
rr
nged in the feed structure of the o
ne-dimension
l
rr
y of line sources. The r
di
tion will therefore occur in penc
il-be
m form
nd will sc
n in both elev
tion
nd
zimuth in
conic
l-sc
n m
nne
r. The sp
cing between the line sources is chosen such th
t no gr
ting lobes occ
ur,
nd
ccur
te
n
lyses show th
t no blind spots
ppe
r
nywhere. The describe
d
rr
ys h
ve been
n
lyzed
ccur
tely by unit-cell
ppro
ch th
t t
kes into
cc
ount
ll mutu
l-coupling e ects. E
ch unit cell incorpor
tes
n individu
l line-so
urce
ntenn
, but in the presence of
ll the others. The r
di
ting termin
tion o
n the unit cell modi es the tr
nsverse equiv
lent network. A key new fe
ture of th
e
rr
y
n
lysis is therefore the determin
tion of the
ctive
dmitt
nce of the
unit cell in the two-dimension
l environment
s
function of sc
n
ngle. If the
v
lues of β and α did not ch
nge with ph
se shift, the sc
n would be ex
ctly conic

l. However, it is found th
t these v
lues ch
nge only
little, so th
t the devi

tion from conic
l sc
n is sm
ll. We next consider whether or not blind spots
r
e present. Blind spots refer to
ngles
t which the
rr
y c
nnot r
di
te or rece
ive
ny power; if
blind spot occurred
t some
ngle, therefore, the v
lue of α w
ould r
pidly go to zero
t th
t
ngle of sc
n. To check for blind spots, we woul
d then α look for
ny sh
rp dips in the curves of ko
s
function of sc
n
ngle.
No such dips α were ever found. Typic
l d
t
of this type exhibit f
irly
t beh
vio
r for ko until the curves drop quickly to zero
s they re
ch the end of the coni
c
l sc
n r
nge, where the be
m hits the ground.
Europe
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s
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Introduction to TWA
References
[1] C. H. W
lter: Tr
veling W
ve Antenn
s, McGr
w Hill, Dover, 1965-1970, reprin
ted by Peninsul
Publishing, Los Altos C
liforni
, 1990. [2] N. M
rcuvitz: W
veg
uide H
ndbook, MCGr
w Hill, 1951, reprinted by Peter Peregrinus Ltd, London, 198
6. [3] V. V. Shevchenko, Continous tr
nsitions in open w
veguides: introduction
to the theory, The Golden Press, Boulder, Color
do 1971; Russi
n Edition, Moscow
, 1969. [4] T. Rozzi
nd M. Mongi
rdo, Open Electrom
gnetic W
veguides, The Inst
itution of Electric
l Engeneers, London, 1997. [5] M. J. Ablowitz
nd A. S. Foke
s, Complex v
ri
bles: Introduction
nd Applic
tions, second edition, C
mbridge U
niversity Press, 2003. [6] A. A. Oliner (princip
l investig
tor), Sc
nn
ble mill
imeter w
ve
rr
ys, Fin
l Report on RADC Contr
ct No. F19628-84-K-0025, Polytech
nic University, New York, 1988. [7] A. A. Oliner, R
di
ting periodic structures:

n
lysis in terms of k vs. β diagrams, short course on Microwave Field and Networ
k Techniques, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New York, 1963. [8] A. A. Oline
r (principal investigator), Lumped Element and Leaky Wave Antennas for Millimete
r Waves, Final Report on RADC Contract No. F19628 81 K 0044, Polytechnic Institu
te of New York, 1984. [9] F. J. Zucker, Surface and leaky wave antennas, Chapter
16.
European School of Antennas