# Spoof Surface Plasmon Polariton Leaky-Wave Antennas using Periodically Loaded Patches above PEC and AMC Ground Planes

## TL;DR

This paper introduces SSPP leaky-wave antennas with PEC and AMC ground planes that enhance radiation gain and reduce profile size, validated through fabrication and measurements in the 4.5-6.5 GHz range.

## Contribution

It presents novel SSPP leaky-wave antennas with periodically loaded patches and compares PEC and AMC ground planes, demonstrating improved gain and compactness.

## Key findings

- Radiation gain increased by ~3 dB with ground planes.
- AMC-grounded antenna is more compact than PEC-grounded.
- Both antennas operate effectively in 4.5-6.5 GHz range.

## Abstract

This paper proposes two spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) leaky-wave antennas using periodically loaded patches above perfect electric conductor (PEC) and artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) ground planes, respectively. The SSPP leaky-wave antenna is based on a SSPP transmission line, along which circular patches are periodically loaded on both sides to provide an additional momentum for phase matching with the radiated waves in the air. The PEC and AMC ground planes underneath the antenna reflect the radiated waves into the upward space, leading to an enhanced radiation gain. Both PEC- and AMC-grounded antenna prototypes are fabricated and measured in comparison with the one without any ground plane. The experimental results show that the PEC and AMC ground planes increase the radiation gain by approximately 3 dB within the operational frequency range 4.5-6.5 GHz. It also demonstrates that the AMC-grounded leaky-wave antenna, with a thickness of 0.08\lambda at 6 GHz, features more compact profile than the PEC-grounded one (with a thickness of 0.3\lambda at 6 GHz).