Reconfigurable dual‐beam leaky‐wave antenna based on spoof surface plasmon polariton

Abstract In this paper, a reconfigurable leaky‐wave antenna (LWA) based on spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) transmission line (TL) is proposed. Patches placed nearby the SSPP TL effectively convey the energy from the transmission mode to the radiation mode. SSPP units are loaded with variable capacitors, which enable the antenna to achieve free switching between fixed‐beam and beam scanning. When the antenna is working on a fixed beam in broadside, operating at 7.6–8.6 GHz, and the beam deviation is within ±1° by adjusting the capacitors. When the proposed antenna operates at fixed frequencies, up to 28° scanning range can be obtained with a stable gain. The antenna is fabricated and proved effective in the experiment. The proposed SSPP LWA provides a solution to narrow‐band and point‐to‐point communication systems.