Optically‐controlled solid‐state plasma leaky‐wave antenna

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, a 2D leaky‐wave antenna is designed for millimeter‐wave applications in the W band. We consider a method for scanning the antenna beam at a fixed frequency using optical control of the properties of a semiconductor waveguide. The analyses are done at 94 GHz using silicon, although other frequency ranges and materials are possible. Beam scanning is achieved by varying the density of an optically induced plasma, without otherwise modifying the antenna structure or changing the frequency. The steepest‐descent approximation is used to calculate the far‐field radiation pattern, where we show that the beam can be scanned over an approximately 30° range. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 39: 450–453, 2003