A Leaky-Wave Antenna Array With Beam-Formed Radiation Pattern for Application in a Confined Space

A substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) leaky-wave antenna (LWA) array with beam-formed radiation pattern is investigated in this paper. The array is composed of two LWA elements with different parameters of slots. For each LWA, the period of slots is selected first within the scope of only n = -1 space harmonic radiation to ensure the beam radiate in the desired direction. Then, the length of the slots is tapered according to the binomial aperture distribution to get the wide beam. Finally, the width of the slots is adjusted to get the desired radiation field strength. By superposing two wide beams from two elements in a weighting way, a cosecant-squared-like beam-formed radiation pattern is realized, which is preferable for the application of uniform radio wave coverage in a long straight confined space. The array is fabricated and measured, and the measured results are consistent with the simulated results.