Analysis of Tapered IDG Antennas in Finite Ground Planes

This paper describes the development of a new theoretical method for the analysis of tapered Inset Dielectric Guide (IDG) antennas in finite ground planes. For the first time, a complete estimate of the aperture and ground plane fields has been constructed. Results are presented for three different representations of the ground plane fields. Calculated radiation patterns compare favourably with experimental values, and demonstrate improvements upon predictions made by existing techniques. The polarisation properties of IDG are such that it is particularly suited to antenna applications. This paper includes a theoretical investigation into the possibility of using the tapered IDG antenna with a dual polarised feed.