Full 360° beam steering millimetre‐wave leaky‐wave antennas coupled with bespoke 3D‐printed dielectric lenses for 5G base stations

Abstract

AbstractA fast beam‐steering capability has been demonstrated using an array of high‐gain corrugated substrate integrated waveguide (CSIW) slot antennas coupled with a bespoke dielectric lens. The proposed system prototype has been simulated, fabricated, and measured. The proposed system is shown to have a full 360° beam‐steer in azimuth plane with an angular sensitivity of 9°, half power beamwidth (HPBW) of 18° and a gain of < 20.5 dBi at n257 frequency band of 26 to 29 GHz. Further, the antenna is shown to have a fixed frequency beam steer of ±15° along with a frequency‐controlled beam‐scanning of ±45° in the elevation plane. The antenna setup is shown to be suitable for applications for 5G base‐stations.