Radiative performance of a Vivaldi antenna equipped with petal-shaped and massive lens

The radiative performances of a high-gain wideband Vivaldi antenna equipped with petal-shaped and massive dielectric lenses are presented. A full-wave numerical technique was employed to include surface wave propagation effects in the dielectric substrates forming the antenna elements and the petal-shaped lenses, as well as diffraction occurring at substrate truncations. Information useful for choosing the most suited lens (massive or petal-shaped) to fulfill system design requirements in terms of weight, cost, and realized gain, are presented.