Surface Wave-Based Conformal End-Fire Antenna With Mitigated Beam Tilt

A surface wave-based end-fire antenna to work as the carrier shell is proposed. The antenna comprises a probe-fed waveguide and a perforated ceramic plate with ground. The waveguide features a parabolic reflecting wall and serves as surface wave launcher. The perforated ceramic plate radiates the surface waves excited by the waveguide into free space. The radome in the front of the ceramic plate is utilized to enhance the antenna gain and to suppress the upwards tilted beam. Simulations show that the proposed conformal antenna achieves a maximum gain of 9.83 dB at the center frequency.