A wide-angle forward to backward scanning wideband leaky-wave antenna based on microstrip spoof surface plasmon polaritons

In this work, a wide-angle forward to backward scanning wideband leaky-wave antenna (LWA) based on the microstrip spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) transmission line (TL) is proposed. The proposed microstrip SSPP TL has tapered corrugations on both sides of the metallic strip conductor. After designing an efficient transition with a good transition occupation ratio and excellent transmission efficiency, a wide-angle scanning LWA is realised. A methodology of achieving high gain and wide-angle scanning by adjusting a large number of radiating elements in a compact area is proposed. The proposed antenna operates in the frequency range of 8.9-12.7 GHz having fractional bandwidth of 35.18% with a continuous scanning range from -35 degrees to +51 degrees. The maximum gain of 19.03 dBi with a maximum radiation efficiency of 90% is achieved from the structure. The proposed antenna can easily be integrated with planar wireless communication systems due to the presence of an unbroken ground plane.