Fundamental properties and optimization of broadside radiation from uniform leaky-wave antennas

In this paper, radiation at broadside is studied for a general class of leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) comprised of a grounded slab covered with a partially reflecting surface, on the basis of a simple transverse equivalent network model of the structure. The analysis of the one-dimensional (1-D) version of such a LWA excited by a line source shows that a central role in establishing the features of broadside radiation is played by the condition that the phase and attenuation constants of the leaky mode responsible for radiation are equal. When this happens, a beam with a single peak at broadside is on the verge of splitting into two distinct peaks, and maximum power density is radiated at broadside. Design formulas to achieve such an optimized condition, as well as approximate expressions for the frequency bandwidth and pattern beamwidth of the antenna and for the leaky-wave phase and attenuation constants are derived, both in the absence and in the presence of losses; in addition, an optimal-beamwidth condition (which gives the narrowest broadside beam) is derived. Finally, all the results are extended to the practical case of a 2-D LWA excited by a horizontal dipole.