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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. AP-35, NO.

9, SEPTEMBER 1987

Analysis of the Tapered Slot Antenna


RAMAKRISHNA JANASWAMY AND DANIEL H. SCHAUBERT, SENIOR MEMBER, IEEE

Abstract-A method for calculating the radiation pattern of end-fire


tapered slot antennas with or without dielectric substrate is presented.
The method involves a two-step procedure: 1) determinethe field
distribution of a traveling wavealong thetapered slot, and 2) compute the
radiation from this slot fieldby using the half-plane Greens function to
account for termination effects. Acceptable estimates of the slot field
usually can be obtained from a stepped approximation to the tapered
geometry. The method has been verified by comparisons to measured
patterns for variousdielectricsubstratesandantennadimensions.
However, the effect of lateral truncation has not yet been successfully
modeled. Experimental patterns showing this effect are presented.

I. INTRODUCTION

HE TAPERED SLOT antenna consists of a tapered slot


T cut in a thin film of metal with or without an electrically
thin substrate on one side of the film as shown in Fig. 1. The
slot is narrow toward one end for efficient coupling to devices
such as mixer diodes. Away from this region, theslot is
taperedanda traveling wave propagating along the slot
radiates in the end-fire direction. Gibson [l] used an exponen-
tially tapered slot antenna (he called it the Vivaldi antenna) on
an alumina substrate in an 8-40 GHz video receiver module.
Prasad and Mahapatra [2] introduced the linearly tapered slot
antenna (LTSA). Their antenna wasshort ( = X,) and etched on
a 25-mil aluminasubstrate. Korzeniowski et ai. [3] developed
an imaging array system at 94 GHz using a 10 X, LTSA on a
1-mil kapton substrate as an element. Yngvesson et ai. [4]
presented experimental results on constant width slot antennas
(CWSAs). In all these works, it wasdemonstrated experi-
. mentally that the tapered slot antenna has a very wide pattern
bandwidth and has the capacity to generate a symmetric main
beam despite its planar geometry. Use of these antennas has so
far beenbasedon empirical designs as no theorywas
available. It is highlydesirable to have atheoretical model that
can predict the radiation characteristics of the antenna so as to
facilitate successful designs. This paper presents a theoretical
model for the radiation characteristics of the tapered slot Fig. 1. Geometry of tapered slot antenna. (a) Original problem. (b) Stepped
antenna. The theory presented is valid for any smoothtaper of approximation.
theslot. To validate the model, sufficient comparison with
experiment is shown. Comparison is made for electrically thin II. METHOD OF ANALYSIS
as well as thick substrates. No attempt is made to model the In this section, a qualitative development of the theoretical
input impedance of the antenna, which has been found to be model is presented. The key steps involved in the theory are
relatively constant and approximatelyequal to the characteris- summarized and the need for the model adopted is justified.
tic impedance of the slotline forming the antenna [4]. Fig. l(a) shows the geometry of the tapered slot antenna.
Metallization is present on only one side of the substrate. The
Manuscript received October 23, 1986; revised March20, 1987. This work antenna radiates in the end-fire direction, i.e., in the negative
was supported in part by NASA Langley Research Center GrantNAG-1-279.
R. Janaswamy was with the En-heering Department, Wilkes College, x-direction. The radiated electric field is linearly polarized and
Wilkes-Barre, PA. He is now with the Departmentof Electrical and Computer is parallel to the plane of the slot. The antennaisusually
Engineering, Naval Post Graduate School, Code62JJ, Monterey, CA 93943.
D. H. Schaubert is with theDepartment of Electrical and Computer
etched on a thin and low-s substrate and made 3-10 & long,
Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003. where X, is the free space wavelength. Well formed radiation
IEEE Log Number 8715708. patternscan be obtainedwhen the lateral dimension H is

0018-926X/87/0900-1058$01.00 O 1987 IEEE


JANASWAMY AND SCHAUBERT: ANALYSIS OF TAPERED SLOT ANTENNA 1059

electrically small or electrically large. In the ensuing analysis the edge ABCD in the metallization and currents are induced
it is assumed that H i s electrically large and will beconsidered due to edge diffraction. These must be included in the
to be infinite. The method of analysis is also valid for antennas analysis. The edge induced currents are important because the
etched on thick, high-c, substrates. However, for the traveling radiation pattern of a slot in an infinite ground plane (i.e.,
wave mode case considered here (i.e., for antennas 3-10 X, without taking the edge ABCD into account) has a null in the
long), experiments have indicated that the main beam is not plane of the conductor. It is shown in Section ILI that the E-
well formed in the end-fire direction in this case, thus limiting plane pattern is governed entirely by the edge induced
its practical utility. currents. The prospective Greens function must be able to
The method of analysis consists of two steps. In the first directly accommodate this important phenomenon. It is seen
step, the tangential component of the electric-field distribution from Fig. 1 that the slotextends as far as the edge ABCD, thus
in the tapered slot, hereafter referred to as the aperture precluding the use of far-field ray scattering theories such as
distribution, is obtained. In the second step, far fields radiated geometrical theoryof diffraction and uniform asymptotic
by the equivalent magnetic current in the slot are obtained by theory [9]. This important near-field scattering is taken into
using an appropriate Greens function. The presence of the account by treating the slot as radiating in the presence of a
dielectric is accounted for in the determination of the aperture conducting half-plane (i.e., the half-plane Greens function is
distribution but is ignored in the second step. used). It can further be shown that the xdirected slot field
The aperture distribution in the tapered slot isdetermined by contributes only to the cross polarizedradiation in either
employing the usual traveling wave antenna assumption that principal plane, and shall not be considered in the subsequent
the aperture distribution is governed predominantly by the development.
propagating modes corresponding to the nonterminated struc- It may also be notedthat a simple analysisbasedon
ture. The effect of the termination of the structure at ABCD approximatelythe currents on themetallization as flowing
canbe incorporated by adding a backward traveling wave. along wires-similar to a V-antenna-and subsequently using
Onerecognizesthat under these conditions, the problem the free space Greens function to find the far fields is not
reduces to finding the field distribution for thecase of a satisfactory. Such a model incorrectly predicts a minimum in
tapered slot line. To accomplish this, the continuous taper is the end-fire direction as the flare angle 2y + 0 (as in a
approximated by means of a number of sections of line of CWSA), whereas the two step procedure described above
uniform width connected endto end. This is illustrated in Fig. correctly predicts an end-fire main beam.
l(b). The slotwavelengthand the characteristic impedance Tai [ 101 has developed theexact theory of infinitesimalslots
vary from section to section in accordance with the slot width. (both one-sided and two-sided) radiating in the presence of a
At this stage, one may use the theory of smallreflections [5] to conducting half-plane. This half-plane Greens function is
get an estimate for the overall reflectioncoefficient arising used in conjunction with theaperture distribution found in step
from reflections from each of the step junctions and from the one to compute the far fields radiated by each uniformsection.
termination. However, itisshownin [6] that for a long Radiation from the entire length is determined by adding the
traveling wave antenna, the backward traveling wave on the contributions from all the sections.
structure does not contribute much to the front lobe. Numeri-
cal studies haveshownthatthe contribution due to the III. FORMULATION
OF THE PROBLEM

backward wave can be ignored whenever L 1 3 &,. The phase distribution in each uniform section in Fig. l(b)
The aperture distribution for the stepped model is found in is the same as that of an equivalent slot line having the same
the followingmanner. Solution to the eigenvalue problemfor a parameters. The slot wavelength A , the characteristic impe-
uniform slot line completely determines the aperture distribu- dance zo, and the slot electric field of a uniform wide slot line
tionineachparallelsection (the slot electric fieldis deter- have been obtained in [7], and [X] by the spectral Galerkins
minedup to a multiplicativeconstant and thisis ofno technique. The power continuity criterion that is enforced at
consequence if one is interested in a uniform slot line alone). the step discontinuityimpliesthat there is no reflection or
To account for the step discontinuity, a powercontinuity radiation at the step junction and, therefore, provides a field
criterion (i.e., constantpowerflowalongtheaxisof the distribution corresponding to a purely propagating wave onthe
tapered line) is enforced at the step junction. This criterion nonterminated (i.e., infinite along the slot) tapered structure.
relatestheundeterminedmultiplicative constants in each Other criteria such as constant voltageacross the slot have also
section, thus yielding the field distribution inthestepped been tried (for the special case of air dielectric LTSA that is
structure corresponding to a forward traveling wave on the treated more rigorously in [6]) but yieldedresults not differing
aperture. It will be shown later that data on the characteristic much from onesobtainedwithpower conservation. The
impedance of a wide uniform slot line are needed to enforce constant power constraint is morephysical in nature and
this criterion. The slot wavelength, the slot electric field, and suggests thatthe nonterminated taperedstructure can support a
the characteristic impedance of a uniform wide slot line on a purelypropagating wave. It recovers the field distribution
low permittivity substrate are obtained in [7], [8] by using the approximately, but very closely, for the E , = 1 antenna treated
Galerkin method in the spectral domain. in [6]. It enables the use of transmission line properties of a
The second step in the analysis is the determination of the uniform slotline in the determination of the field distribution in
fields radiated by the tapered slot using the field distribution the tapered slot.
found in the first step. Termination of the aperture results in The transverse slotfield E; in a uniformslot line is
x
A _
. .
..
.lo60 EEE TRANSACTIONS
ANTENNAS
ON AND PROPAGATION, VOL. AP-35, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 1987

ABCD, but ignores the effects of the thin substrate. Compari-


sons with experiment support the use ofthis approximation. It
had been stated earlier that the longitudinal slot field E: does
not contribute to the cc-polarized far-field in either principal
plane. This may be explained physically as follows. The far-
field component at any observation point is composed of two
terms-a term involving the incident field, i.e., field in the
absence of the edge ABCD and a second term, the scattered
field, that arises as a result of induced currents on the metal
due to the presence of the edge ABCD. Both the incident field
where T,( .) is the Chebyshev polynomial of the first kind of and the scattered field arising out of E: are perpendicular to
order n. E; is an even function of z , whichis the field the xz-plane and contribute only to the cross-polarized
configuration for the dominant mode on the line. Also, the component. Hence, only field due to E: is needed as far as the
basis functions chosen satisfy the proper edge conditions. copolar component is concerned. The far field e@, 9) due to
The Fourier transform of the basis functionsin (1) are given an x-directed two sided infinitesimal slot (that supports E:)
as r71 located at (x ,z ) on a conducting half-planeis given by [111
(suppressing the constants)
eo(e, 4)= Jsin ,+lejr/4F(v)e+jko(xs ~ ~ c o s ~ +~ z 0 ~ 0 )
where CY is the transform variable. These functions are used
with the spectral domain Greens function to obtaina
homogeneous Galerkin moment method matrix equation from
sin (:)
e - j [ x / 4 + k o ( x f sin e - z r cos e)]

which the guide wavelength and expansion coefficients ad are + (6)


dnkox sin 0
obtained [SI. The power P f , the characteristic impedance Zo,
and the slot electric field E; are related as where u = k,,x sin e(l +
cos 9) and F ( - ) is the Fresnel
integral defined by

where $(CY) is the Fourier transform of E:. For the above


choice of basis functions, EZ(O) = a l , where al is the It may be noted that as the slot is receded away from the
amplitude of the first transverse basis function. A constant edge, kox -+ CQ and ejal4F(u) l/a.The second term in
-+

power flow along the slot implies that (6) decays to zero and eo is dominated by the first term.
Further, the first term reduces to the familiar far-field
expression for a slot inan infinite ground plane (except for an
insignificantconstantphase factor). Consequently, the first
term may be labeled the incident field and the second term
where the superscripts denote the section number. Renorma-
the scattered field. The scattered fieldis particularly
lizing the mode coefficients in (1) as per (4) and inserting the
significant for small k,,x. In the E-plane, I$ = and it is seen
phase factor of the propagating slot wave, the z-directed slot
from (6)that the incident field is identically .zero, as expected.
field EL in the ith section is given by
The far field in the E-plane is governed entirely by the
scattered field. The half-plane Greens function correctly
predicts a nonzero field in the E-plane.
The far-zone field E; from the ith section is obtained by
integrating (5) over the ith sectionwith (6) as a kernel.
Radiation from the antenna is obtained by adding up the
Ei ( Z ) contributions from all sections. It can be shown that the result
a (5)
where k l is the propagation constant in the ith section, which for E; can be obtained in a closed form. The result is
must be determined by numerical search such thatEf(x, Z ) E-plane:
is a mode of the uniform slot line corresponding to the ith
section [i]. The mode coefficients ad in the ith section are all
normalized such that af = 1 and all other mode Coefficients
are determined in terms of ai. Equation (5) completely
determines the aperture distribution in the stepped structure
both in magnitude and in phase.
The equivalent magnetic currents in the slot are proportional
to (5) and radiate in thepresence of a conductinghalf-plane, as
described earlier. This half-plane Greens function rigorously
accounts for the near-field scattering by the metallic edge at
JANASWAMY AND SCHAUBERT: ANALYSIS OF TAPERED SLOT ANTENNA

H-plane:
L/Xo = 7.0
27 = 15O
E, = 1.0

+sin (4) [ F * ( q i )- F * ( q f ) ] ]

-Step Approximation
.......TEM Analysis

where E-Plane

Ci=(X,/h')i*,ti,,, ko=27r/X, -5aw


Sa00
L B0.W 3o.M 0.00 3o.W 4.00 9o.W

u;= /cox;(ci- sin e), a;= /c0&ci+ sin e)


I I I I Obsewation Angle (Des.)
vi= koxi(ci+ cos q5), fi;= kox;(c'- cos 9) Fig. 2. Radiationpatterns of TEM-LTSA obtained using steppedapproxi-
I I I I mation and exact aperture distribution.
q;= koxf(c'- l), g;= koxi(c'+ 1)
I I 1 I
supported antennas when the substrate is electrically thin. In
p;= kOx;(l+ cos 4), all the subsequent computations, five steps/wavelength were
I . I
chosenin the stepped model. Thatthis choice represents a
and xf, x ; are the lower and upper coordinates respectively of convergent solution was checked for a number of cases.
the ith section. F( .) is the Fresnel integral defined in (7) and All the pattern measurements reported here have been done
the asterisk denotescomplex conjugation. For the sake of with the test antenna in a receiving mode. A microwave diode
generality, the contribution due to a backward traveling wave wasConnected across the feed gap to directly detect the
on the aperture with a relative amplitude r is also included in modulated RF signal. The diode may be biasedor left unbiased
the above expressions. pi(* ) is determined from (l), (2), and depending on the dynamic range it provides. In most cases,
(5). In general, one may have to consider more than one mode linearity of the diode was checked (for faithful power level
in eachsection to obtain a convergent solution for theslot reproduction) before taking the actual measurements.
wavelength and the slot characteristic impedance [8]. How- Fig. 3 shows the comparison between theory and experi-
ever, not all these modes have significant contribution to the ment for anLTSAbuilton a 20-mil, er = 2.22 (Duroid)
far fields of the antenna and numerical studies have indicated substrate. The flare angle 2y of the antenna was 10" and L =
thatconsideringonly the dominant term in (5) gives suffi- 4.2 X,as measured at 10.0 GHz. The slight ripple seen in the
ciently accurate results for the pattern, in which casepi(a W ) experimental E-plane main lobe is due to the finite height 2 H
= l,QJO(a, W / 2 ) . of the antenna. In the theoretical case, computations were done
usingboth the calculated slotwavelength (the uncorrected
Iv. NUhiERICALRESULTSAND DISCUSSION case)and the measuredslotwavelength (corrected case).
The validity of the stepped approximation isverified by Dispersion data on the slotwavelength X' neededin the
comparing the radiation patterns for the special case of air pattern calculations were obtainedusingthe spectral Ga-
dielectric LTSA (the TEM-LTSA). Comparison is made lerkin's technique. It is reported in [7]that the measured slot
between patterns obtained by usingthehalf-plane Green's wavelength was always below the computed value. For the
function with the aperture distribution determined by 1) the above set of slotline parameters, the calculated value of the
stepped approximation, and 2) the more accurate method of normalized slot wavelength(X ' /&) increases from 0.89 at the
conformalmappingemployed in [6]. Fig. 2 shows the feed gap to 0.98 at the termination. Measurements done on X '
comparison between the twofor an LTSA with 2 y = 15" L = on this particular substrate indicated that the calculated slot
7 X,, and Wf= 0. Convergent results for the pattern in the wavelength was systematically displaced above the measured
stepped model were obtained withfive steps/wavelength. The value by about + 2.5 percent. Measurements were done up to
H-plane pattern is less sensitive to theexact shape of the a slot width of0.8 &. For a traveling wave antenna, this slight
aperture and the two cases are almost indistinguishable. The change in the wavelength (or equivalently, phase velocity) can
stepped model predicts a slightly narrower main beam in the have dramatic effects in the pattern beamwidths. Typically the
E-plane compared to the TEM analysis case. However, the 3 dB beamwidth changesby about 20 percent for a 2-3 percent
difference is not very significant. Favorable comparison change in thephasevelocity for an antenna thatis 3-4
betweenthe two validates the steppedmodel for E , = 1 wavelengthslong [12]. At a slotwidthof 0.74 X, (that
antenna. The modelshould also bevalid for dielectric corresponds to the width of the slot at the termination for the
. .-*
-- .-1062 . IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. AP-35, NO. 9, SEPTEMJjER 1987

0.00 0.00 I I

%
h

v
% -1o.w v
-10.00

L
I a,
W
3
0 a
5
a
W
.-W>
Y
>
13
-0 -
0
-20.00
a, -2o.w
IY

E-Plane &Plane

I I -30.00
9o.00 30.00 60.00 0.00 50.00 6o.m 90.00

Observation h g l e (Deg.) Observation .Angle (Des.)


Fig. 4. Measured and computed radiation patterns of LTSA on thick
Fig. 3. Measured and computed
radiation
patterns of LTSA on thin substrate.Frequency = 12 GHz.
substrate.
ments on slot wavelengthfor the thick substrate case were not
above antenna) the calculated wavelength was + 2.7 percent performed. However, for the sake of comparing with the thin
above the measured one. A correction factor of - 2.7 percent substrate case considered earlier, patterns have been computed
for X' was used all along the slot aperture in the solid curve withandwithout a hypothetical correction factor of -2.5
displayed in Fig. 3. Good agreement with experiment is percent in the slot wavelength and are shown in Fig. 4. It is
obtained. If on the other hand, the uncorrected slot wavelength seen that unlike the thin substrate case (cf. Fig. 3), correction
were used in the computed patterns, a poorer agreement with does not change the main lobe beamwidth, although it results
experiment is seen. The corrected slot wavelength reduces the in a much higher sidelobe level in the H-plane. Computations
H-plane beamwidth by about 18.5 percent. It is clear that the done without any correction agree better with experiment as
slotwavelengthmust be foundveryaccurately in order to seen in Fig. 4. It appears that the normalized slot wavelength
predict accurately the beamwidth. The effect ofthisslight calculated by the spectral Galerkin's technique is quite
discrepancy in X' on the pattern calculations becomes increas- accurate whenitisnot close to unity. This corresponds to
ingly significant as the antenna length is increases (due to the using an electrically thick substrate or one with a high relative
accumulated phase shift thewave gathers as it progresses permittivity. The experimentalE-plane pattern had a slight dip
along the taperedslot). Furthermore, the slot wavelength hasa of about 0.3 dB at the boresight (this and the slight ripple in the
more pronounced effect in the H-plane than in the E-plane. E-plane main lobe couldhavebeencaused by the lateral
This is because the H-plane pattern depends only on the phase truncation of the experimental model).
velocity of the traveling wave (i.e., on A') and the antenna Comparison for the pattern was also done for a h i g h - ,
length, whereas the E-plane pattern has additional dependence substrate. Fig. 5 shows the comparison for an LTSA built ona
on the slot taper shape. 10-mil RT/Duroid 6010.5 substrate. The antenna was made
Experimental patterns are shownonly in the forward 15.0 cm long (corresponding to L / X , = 4.0 at 8.0 GHz) and
hemisphere (x < 0, cf. Fig. 1) where the theory is valid. The with a flare angle of 14". For this set of parameters, d / b =
cross-polarizationpatterns for the antenna in the two principal 0.0068, Wo = 1 A,,. The computed slot wavelength increases
planes were also measuredand were found to be - 19 dB from 0.58 at the feed gap to 0.91 at the termination. The
below the maximum of the co-polar pattern. It may also be experimental model had H = 12.7 cm, the same value as in
worth noting that the experimental patterns exhibited a near the previous antenna. Fig. 5 illustrates that a good agreement
symmetrywithrespect to the endfire direction in both the is obtained between theexperiment and theory. No correction
principal planes.The sidelobe levels oneither side different by factor for X' wasmeasured for this substrate. However,
less than 1 dB in a number of cases [ 111. patterns were calculatedwithandwithout a hypothetical
Fig. 4 shows the patterns for a thick substrate case. The correction factor of -2.5 percent. This hypothetical correc-
antenna wasbuilton a 59-mil duroid substrate (RT/Duroid tion factor reducesthe H-plane beamwidth by about 10
5880, E , = 2.22) corresponding to d / X , = 0.06 at 12.0 GHz. percent. This is in constract to 18.5 percent for the thin
L = 6.1 X,and 2y = 14.25". For this set of parameters, the substrate case.
slot width WOat the termination is approximately 1.5 b.The Fig. 6 illustrates the comparison for the high-e, substrate at
computed slot wavelengthincreases from 0.83 at the feed gap 10 GHz. At this frequency, d / b = 0.0085, L / X , = 5.0, and
to 0.92 at thetermination. The experimental model had a half- Wo = 1.25 h,,. No correction factor for X' was introduced in
height of 12.7 cm corresponding to H/Xo = 5.1. Measure- the computed patterns. The computed pattern exhibits a high
JANASWAMY AND SCHAUBERT: ANALYSIS OF TAPERED SLOT ANTENNA 1063

-Computed
27 = 14"
= 10.5

/-.
g -10.00
v
L
W
5
a
W
.-
u
7

-
0
a, -20.00
K

&Plane

I I
-so no I I t
....
90.M 60.00 3DM
.) 50.00 wrm

Observotion Angle (Deg.) Observation Angle (Des.)


Fig. 5 . Measuredandcomputedradiationpatterns of LTSAonhigh+, Fig. 7. Measured and computed radiation patternsof Vivaldi antenna on a 1/
substrate.Frequency = 8 GHz.
2-in Styrofoam sheet.

5.3 cm. Fig. 7 shows the radiation patterns at 10 GHz. At this


frequency, L = 6.3 X, and Wa = 1.77 X,. For the
experimental case, H = 15.24 cm. The exponential taper was
modeled by the stepped approximation. A value 0.9999 was
assumed for the normalized slot wavelength in each step and
the characteristic impedance was taken to be constant for all
theuniform sections. This was done so as to avoid the
numerical instability that may have to be incurred if the slot
line program is used to compute these parameters. The
agreement between the theory and experiment in Fig. 7 is
fairly good. The mainbeam as well as the sidelobes are
adequately modeled. Pattern comparisons for other taper
angles of the LTSA and other taper shapes are found in [l 11.
Also demonstrated there is the use ofcurve-fitted slot line data
provided in [8] for the pattern computations as opposed to the
wm JMO Mo 30.00 6Q.w ww separately generated data as done here.
The results presented earlier are all for antennaswith
Observation Angle (Des.) electrically large H. Ideally the theory is applicable when H
Fig. 6. Measuredandcomputedradiationpatterns of LTSA on high-e, + 03.It has been shown by comparing with experiment that
substrate. the theory predicts patterns reasonably well for cases with H
greater than approximately 3 X,. However, it hasbeen
first sidelobe in the H-plane, typical of a long traveling wave observed experimentally that the pattern exhibits some inter-
antenna that supports a very slowwave. The measured esting features as the antenna is truncated laterally (i.e., H
pattern, however, exhibits only a shoulder on the main beam. made electrically small). In particular, this lateral truncation
Itisseenthatexcept for the first H-plane sidelobe, the resultsin an E-plane beamwidththat is, in most cases,
theoretical predictions agree reasonably well withexperiment. considerably narrower than the one obtained using an antenna
A Vivaldi antenna is built with an exponential slot taper [11. with a large H.
The generating equation for the slot width W(c) is given by Figs. 8(a)-8(d) showthe radiation patterns of an LTSA built
W ( [ )= Wferc on a 1-inStyrofoam sheet, andwith L = 24 cm, Wf = 1.5
mm, Wa = 5.1 cm ( = 2 in), and f = 9 GHz. At this
where Wfif the slot width at the feed gap, { is the distance frequency, L = 7.2 X,, and Wa = 1.53 X,. The lateral
variable measured from the feed gap along the antenna length dimension H of the antenna was successively decreased over
and T is the rate at which the exponential curve grows. A the range 4.6 1 H/X, 1 0.076 ( = 0.5 Wa/X,)and in each
Vivaldi antenna wasbuilton a 1.27 cm(112-in) thick case the pattern was measured. It is seen from the plots that
Styrofoam sheet ( E , = 1.05) and using Wf= 0.06 cm, T = beamshapeisbeing affected considerably as the heightis
0.2 cm-I and L = 19.0 cm. For this set of parameters, Wa = varied. In particular, a very narrow E-plane mainbeamis
..
.. -
I

1064 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AhTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. Ap-35, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 1987

accurate results for thin and high-6, substrates. It is shown that


to predict pattern results, the slot wavelength for thin and low-
er substrates must be found with an accuracy better than 2.5
percent presently obtainable with the spectral Galerkins
technique. The model is ideally valid for an antenna with an
infinite lateral extent. Good results are, however, obtained
when the lateral dimension (i.e., height) of the antenna is at
least three wavelengths. It is also shown experimentally that
narrower E-plane beamwidths are obtainable whenan antenna
having a smaller height is used. Further theoretid studies in
this regard are needed.

REFERENCES

.
[l] P. J. Gibson, The Vivaldi aerial, in Proc. 9th European Micro-
wave Conf. Brighton, U.K., 1979, pp. 101-105.
[2] S. N.Prasad and S. Mahapatra,A novelmicslot lineaerial, in
Proc. 9th European Microwave Conf., Brighton, U.K., 1979, pp.
120-124.
[3] T. L. Koneniowski, D. M.Pozar,D.H.Schaubert,and K. S.
Yngvesson, Imaging system at 94 GHz using tapered slot antenna
elements,presentedattheEighthIEEE Int. Cod. Infrared and
Millimeter Waves, Miami Beach, F L , 1983.
[4] K. S. Yngvesson, D.H. Schaubert, T. L. Korzeniowski,E. L.
Kollberg, T. Thungen, and J. F. Johannson,Endfiretaperedslot
antennas on dielectric substrates,ZEEE Trans. Antennas Propgat.,
V O ~AP-33,
. pp. 1392-1400, Dm. 1985.
[5] R. E. Collin, Foundationsfor Microwave Engineering. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1966, ch. 5.
[6] R. Janaswamy, D. H. Schaubert, and D. M. Pozar, Analysis of the
TEM-mode linearly tapered slot antenna, Radio Sci., vol. 21, no. 5,
pp. 797-804, Sept.-Oct. 1986.
[q R. Janaswamyand D. H. Schaubert,Dispersioncharacteristicsfor
wide slot lines on low permittivity substrates, ZEEE Trans. Micro-
wave Theory Tech., vol. MTT-33, pp. 723-726, Aug. 1985.
[8] -, Characteristic impedance of a wide slot lineon low permittivity
-10?, 0 50 IBO - ? I B O ! Z substrates, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. MTT-34,
3 = 2.5cm pp. 900-902, Aug. 1986.
E-Plane E-Pkne [9] R. C. Hansen, Ed., Geometric Theory of Diffraction. New York
(d) IEEE Press, 1981.
[lo]. C. T. Tai, Dyadic GreensFunction in EIectromagnetic Theory.
Fig. 8. Pattern dependence on the lateral dimension H . (a) H = 15.2 cm. Scranton, PA: htext Educational Publishers, 1971.
(b) H = 10.2 cm. (c) H = 5.1 cm. (d) H = 2.5 cm. [ l l ] R. Janaswamy, Radiationpattern
analysis of the tapered
slot
antenna, Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. Massachusetts, Amherst, 1986.
[I21 R. E. Collin and F. J. Zucker, Eds., Antenna Theory, pt. 2. New
obtained when H = 5.1 cm. There is, however, a broadening York: McGraw-Hill, 1968, chs. 20-22.
of the H-plane beam (compared to the one obtained with a
larger H ). Theoretical studies in this regard are not completed
yet and will be presented in a future paper.
V. CONCLUSION
A theoretical model for the tapered slot antenna is pre-
sented. The model presented is valid for any smooth taper of
the slot. The problem is solved by modeling the slot electric
field and usingthe half-plane Greens function to compute the .~ ,
Ramakrishna Janaswamy was born in Andhra
f
far fields. The aperture field is obtained byeffecting a stepped _
;Pradesh,India, on September 17, 1958. Here-
,. ceivedtheE.Tech.degree (andwas awarded a
approximation to the continuous taper andutilizing the Gold Medal foracademicexcellence)from Re-
uniform width slot line data. gional EngineeringCollege,Warangal,India, in
Numerous comparisons withmeasurement are made to 1981, the M. Tech.degreefromI.I.T. Kharagpur,
,,

India, in 1983, and thePh.D.degreefromthe


demonstrate the validity of the model. In particular, results are
~

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1986, all


presented for a linearly tapered slot antenna, and an exponen- in electrical engineering.
tially tapered slot antenna (the Vivaldi). The stepped approxi- From 1982 to 1983 he was a Graduate Research
Assistant in theElectrical and Communication
mation is validated for the special case of an air dielectric Engineering Department at I.I.T. Kharagpur. From 1983 to 1986, he was a
LTSA (TEM-LTSA) bycomparing the patterns against a more Graduate ResearchAssistant in theElectrical Engineering Department,
rigorous model. University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Heis currently an Assistant Professor
of Electrical Engineering at Wilkes College, Wilkes-Bme, PA. His current
The model predicts reasonably good results for thin as well research interestsare in the a r e a s of electromagnetic scattering,time domain
as thick IOW-E, substrates. The model also gives sufficiently analysis and antenna analysis.
JANASWAMY AND SCHAUBERT:ANALYSIS OF TAPERED SLOT Ah-NNA 1065

Daniel H. Schaubert (S68-M74-SM79)re- analysis and numericalsolution of electromagneticscatteringproblems. He is


ceived the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees inparticularlyinterestedin problems involvingdielectricmediaandapplications
electricalengineering from the University of Illi- to monolithicintegrated circuits atmicrowave and millimeterwavefrequen-
nois. cies, and in radiation of shortduration pulses.
From 1974 to 1980, hewasaSeniorResearch Dr. Schaubertisactiveinthe IEEE Antennas and PropagationSociety,
and DevelopmentEngineer at Harry Diamondhaving served as amember of theAdministrative Committee and as chairman
Laboratories, Adelphi, M D . From 1980 to 1982he of the MembershipCommitteeandtheWashington, D.C. Chapter. Hewas
was a project engineer and programmanagerat the editor of the AP-S Newsletter and is currently Secretary-Treasurer of the
Bureau ofRadiologicalHealth,Rockville,MD. He Society. He has served ontheTechnicalReviewCommittee for the Joint
is currently Associate Professor of Electrical and ServicesElectronics Program and several adhocpanelsandreview boards,
Computer Engineering at the University of M a s s - and he is a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta pi.
chusetts, Amherst. His current research interests include antenna design and

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