Wide-Angle Scanning Leaky-Wave Antenna Array Based on Double-Layer Double-Row Spoof Surface Plasmon Polariton

A wide-angle scanning leaky-wave antenna based on double-layer double-row (DLDR) spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) is presented. The designed periodic SSPP with double-layer glide-symmetry can convert slow-wave mode into fast-wave to realize dual-beam radiation. The double-row zipper-shaped structure functions as a binary array, providing endfire radiation and improved gains. The quarter-wave transformers are introduced into SSPP unit cells for suppress the open stopband effect to realize broadside radiation. The measured results indicate that the designed antenna achieve a wide scanning range of 136° (−90°–46°) within the frequency range of 11–26 GHz. The maximum gain of the proposed antenna is 13.1 dBi with a gain fluctuation of 2.8 dB in the entire operation frequency band. The designed antenna not only has a wide-angle scanning including endfire and broadside direction, but also has small gain fluctuations.