Flexible Antipodal Vivaldi Leaky-Wave Antennas

A novel design for a flexible bi-directional leaky-wave antenna (LWA) is proposed and experimentally verified. The design is based on differential microstrip technology and use a periodic antipodal Vivaldi array to emit side-fire radiation beams. The LWA design utilizes a single feed to achieve bi-directional radiation and was engineered for a broadside frequency of 6 GHz. The design is fabricated using a thin flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet substrate and Kapton sheets. The fabricated antenna shows high gain, high directivity, and good reflection characteristics while being thin, flexible and lightweight. The antenna can be engineered to point high gain beams in multiple desired directions, and can be further adapted to allow for precision control of the beams in various frequency bands when mounted on both flat and conformal surfaces.