Patent attributes
A slot antenna with the low-cost, light weight features of an SIW antenna combined with the efficiency of a metallic antenna. The antenna of this disclosure may use printed circuit board manufacturing (PCB) processes to form the radiating portion to create slots and waveguide features with accurate dimensions and accurate positions. Like a metallic antenna, radio frequency (RF) energy passes through air in the radiating waveguides instead of a substrate, which means low insertion loss and high efficiency. Examples of the antenna of this disclosure may include a metallic coupling waveguide to carry the RF energy from the RF generating components of the radar system to the radiated branch waveguides. The metallic coupling waveguide may be configured to provide structural support to the PCB radiating portion as well as backwards compatibility to retrofit existing radar systems with the antenna assembly of this disclosure.
