Characteristics of a Linearly Tapered Slot Antenna (LTSA) conformed longitudinally around a cylinder

The family of tapered slot antennas (TSA's) is suitable for numerous applications. Their ease of fabrication, wide bandwidth, and high gain make them desirable for military and commercial systems. Fabrication on thin, flexible substrates allows the TSA to be conformed over a given body, such as an aircraft wing or a piece of clothing for wearable networks. Previously, a double exponentially tapered slot antenna (DETSA) was conformed around an exponential curvature, which showed that the main beam skewed towards the direction of curvature. This paper presents a linearly tapered slot antenna (LTSA) conformed longitudinally around a cylinder. Measured and simulated radiation patterns and the direction of maximum H co-polarization (Hco) as a function of the cylinder radius are presented.