A Loaded Wideband Linearly Tapered Slot Antenna With Broad Beamwidth

A novel wideband linearly tapered slot antenna (LTSA) with broad beamwidth is presented. In the proposed design, the basic microstrip-fed LTSA is loaded with a joint action structure (JAS) comprising tapered slots and patches. Compared to the basic unloaded version, the loaded LTSA (LLTSA) exhibits improved impedance characteristic in the lower band. Additionally, broad beams in principal planes, moderately high front-to-back (F/B) ratio, and improved gain are also obtained. Simulation and measurement results reveal that the proposed LLTSA can provide an impedance bandwidth of 66%, while a pattern bandwidth of 35% and more than 117° 3-dB beamwidths of E-plane and H-plane patterns in that band are also achieved.