A Tunable Metagratings Leaky-Wave Antenna Based on Liquid Crystal

作者：Odai Hassan Raheem Al Soad, Kenneth Kalan John, Hanyi Fu, Jiahui Fu, Kuang Zhang · 发表于：Sensors · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.3390/s26072191 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Advanced Antenna and Metasurface Technologies、Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications、Liquid Crystal Research Advancements

An electrically tunable wide-beam-scanning metagratings leaky-wave antenna (MGs LWA) based on liquid crystal (LC) is proposed. Two-dimensional (2D) periodic slotted MGs with capacitive and inductive behaviors are etched on the bottom layer of the substrate and backed by a ground plane with an LWA framework. Two different slotted MG elements are adopted to suppress the open-stopband effects. A theoretical analysis is conducted to provide a conceptual framework for the equivalent electromagnetic fields generated by slotted MGs. Using LC, tunable beam scanning is achieved at a fixed frequency. The LC is placed between the inverted MGs LWA radiating metal and the ground plane to control the LC molecules’ orientation angle by applying a DC voltage across them, thereby adjusting the LC permittivity. Using the results obtained, the proposed antenna can be tuned up to 40° at a fixed frequency by applying a biased DC voltage ranging from 0 V to 10 V. The actual operating bandwidth is 40% for continuous beam scanning of 71°, with a scanned sensitivity of 8.35°/GHz at the zero voltage (V = 0 V), and beam scanning of 61°, with a scanned sensitivity of 7.17°/GHz at the saturation voltage (V = 10 V). The proposed MGs LWA has a realized gain of up to 13.84 dBi. Finally, the proposed antenna has excellent performance due to its potential to achieve wide tunable beam scanning with a narrow beamwidth compared to traditional LWAs’ limitation of radiation angle, depending on the excitation frequ...