Wideband Open-Ended Ridge Gap Waveguide Antenna Elements for 1-D and 2-D Wide-Angle Scanning Phased Arrays at 100 GHz

Journal article, 2022

A new antenna element type based on the open-ended ridge gap waveguide (RGW) is proposed for beam-steering phased array applications. This element type is of a particular interest at high mm-wave frequencies (≥ 100 GHz) owing to a contactless design alleviating active beam-steering electronics integration. The key challenge addressed here is a realization of a wide fractional bandwidth and scan range with high radiation efficiency. We demonstrate a relatively simple wideband impedance matching network comprised of an aperture stepped ridge segment and a single-pin RGW section. Furthermore, the E- and H-plane grooves are added that effectively suppress antenna elements mutual coupling. Results demonstrate a wide-angle beam steering (≥ 50°) over ≥ 20% fractional bandwidth at W-band with ≥ 89% radiation efficiency that significantly outperforms existing solutions at these frequencies. An experimental prototype of a 1×19 W-band array validates the proposed design concept through the embedded element pattern measurements.