An Ultrawideband Miniaturized Vivaldi Antenna Using Rectangular Slots And Resistors Loading With Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons

Rectangular slots and resistive loading (RSRL) are integrated into the design to improve the performance of the traditional Vivaldi antenna (TVA). The proposed antenna successfully extends the low-end bandwidth limit while achieving antenna miniaturization. Furthermore, the integration of spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPP) significantly improve the antenna's directivity and gain without deteriorating its bandwidth. The compact design has a coverage area of 0.28λL × 0.16λL. The antenna was fabricated and tested, covering the ultra-wideband (UWB) range from 0.27 GHz to 18 GHz with a return loss of 10 dB. Notably, the maximum gain is increased by up to 3.5 dBi at 13 GHz compared to the Vivaldi antenna without SSPP.