A coplanar CRLH leaky-wave antenna on a flexible membrane substrate

A coplanar balanced composite right/left-handed (CRLH) leaky-wave antenna (LWA) structure designed on a 2 mil polyimide membrane is presented. This antenna exhibits broadside radiation at a C-band frequency corresponding to the transition between the left-handed and right-handed bands of the CRLH. Good agreement is observed between the predicted and measured radiation patterns over a 100 MHz bandwidth centered at the CRLH line's transition frequency, in spite of a significant shift between the predicted and measured transition frequencies.