Investigation of radiation patterns of longitudinally oriented slot antenna array for imaging radar applications

Abstract

A longitudinally oriented slot antenna array for imaging radar applications is designed and its performance was investigated. When constructing a two-dimensional physical array to image a target, arranging the antenna in a longitudinal direction can be problematic due to the limited space for antennas. Hence, when arranging slot elements in a longitudinal direction, the proposed antenna array is designed such that two slot elements share a single slot arm, which achieves proper element spacing. In this letter, as a proof-of-concept, a two-port longitudinally oriented slot antenna array is designed. The initial array shows radiation pattern distortion, which can have a negative effect on radar sensing. Several geometric modifications to correct the distorted radiation pattern are then introduced and the performance after modifications is measured. The results show that the modified antenna array structure can be useful in imaging radar applications. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:24082412, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27055