A Simple High-Gain Millimeter-Wave Leaky-Wave Slot Antenna Based on a Bent Corrugated SIW

We propose a bent corrugated substrate integrated waveguide (BCSIW) structure that can be used to design a high gain leaky wave antenna (LWA). The design removes the need for a metallic via fabrication process needed for standard substrate integrated waveguides (SIW) and displays superior performance to previously reported structures. We use simulations to compare the performance of the proposed BCSIW LWA to equivalent standard SIW and corrugated SIW (CSIW) structures, as well as experimentally characterize a fabricated BCSIW LWA. Simulation results show that the BCSIW structure can help improve the impedance bandwidth of a slotted LWA by about 14.7% while still maintaining high gain (about 13.2–17.4 dBi) as compared to an LWA based on a CSIW structure. Measurement results indicate that the proposed BCSIW LWA has a wide impedance bandwidth (32.6%) and a high peak gain (12–16.2 dBi) throughout a large frequency range from 22 to 29.2 GHz with a large beam angle range from −69° to −10°.