Multi-Port Leaky-Wave Antennas as Real-Time Analog Spectral Decomposers

A novel analog and real-time spectral decomposition system for signal processing at millimeter-wave (mmwave) frequencies is proposed and demonstrated using full-wave simulations. The system is based on a multi-port leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) structure formed using an array of N 1-D LWAs with 2 N ports. When this structure receives a broadband time-domain signal from a single direction, the signal's various spectral components are separated in real-time. They subsequently appear at the various ports of the LWAs following their respective beam-scanning laws. The proposed concept is demonstrated using frequency and time-domain full-wave simulations of two slot array antennas to decompose a transient pulse into four frequencies. The frequency outputs are then correlated back to the beam-scanning laws of the antennas.