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3D-Printed Subterahertz High-Scanning-Rate Leaky-Wave Antenna Based on Metallic Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons

  • Zheliang Liu
  • , Yilin Gao
  • , Hongda Lu*
  • , Lu Qian
  • , Yong Liu
  • , Steven Gao
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • Beijing Institute of Technology
  • Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • University of Birmingham

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This letter proposes a 3D-printed subterahertz fully metallic frequency-scanning (FS) periodic leaky-wave antenna (LWA) based on a spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) transmission line. Glide symmetry is introduced into the conventional domino-Type SSPP transmission line to increase dispersion, thereby enabling a higher scanning rate. An asymmetric periodic modulation structure is designed to excite leaky-wave radiation while suppressing the open stopband effect without extra elements. A gap waveguide (GWG) is utilized as the feeding structure, which mitigates energy leakage from potential assembly gaps and significantly reduces fabrication difficulty and assembly complexity. The SSPPs and GWG structures are monolithically fabricated using high-precision 3-D printing and surface-metallized via magnetron sputtering of gold. Experimental measurements of a prototype demonstrate continuous beam scanning from-29to +49$ within the frequency range from 180 to 220 GHz, achieving a scanning rate of 3.9/%BW. The peak gain varies between 11.13 and 16.53 dBi. This work provides a cost-effective, high-performance, and feasible solution for metallic FS LWAs, with promising applications in terahertz imaging and radar systems.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)601-606
Number of pages6
JournalIEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology
Volume16
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2026
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Frequency scanning (FS)
  • fully metallic spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs)
  • high scanning rate
  • leaky-wave antenna (LWA)
  • subterahertz (sub-THz)

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