An Electronically Tunable Leaky-wave Antenna Based on Goubau Transmission Line

In this paper, an electronically tunable leaky-wave antenna based on Goubau transmission line is presented. The dynamic control over the main beam scanning angles is achieved by periodically loading PIN switch diodes in the modulation units. The biasing circuit of diodes is implemented at the bottom of the antenna. The electronic state of each PIN diode is independently biased in which way the modulation periodicity can be dynamically modified. The proposed antenna provides not only frequency-dependent radiation beams but also tunable beam steering angles at fixed frequencies. Simulated antenna prototype demonstrates beam scanning capability of 9°/GHz within 8-10 GHz and angle range 62° at 9 GHz.