Ultra-high and Tunable Sensitivity Leaky-Wave Scanning Using Gain-Loss C-section Phasers

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel leaky-wave antenna design using active Gain-Loss C-section pairs to achieve ultra-high, tunable sensitivity in scanning, enabling enhanced real-time spectrum analysis with adjustable frequency resolution.

Contribution

It introduces a new active leaky-wave antenna concept that allows tunable, high-sensitivity scanning by controlling group delay without affecting magnitude response.

Findings

Achieves significantly enhanced scanning sensitivity.

Enables tunable frequency resolution for spectrum analysis.

Operates effectively on low-permittivity substrates.

Abstract

A periodic leaky-wave antenna (LWA) with tuning capability and enhanced scanning sensitivity is introduced in this paper. This antenna leverages the concept of active Gain-Loss C-section pairs to tune the group delay of each antenna unit cell without affecting its magnitude response. This in turn changes the scanning angle versus frequency rate in the periodic LWA. The proposed concept is well-suited for the application to real-time spectrum analysis, where it allows the frequency resolution to be tuned or significantly enhanced even with a low-permittivity substrate.