A center-fed slot array antenna based on ridge gap waveguide (RGW) technology is presented. In the proposed structure, no aperture blockage is introduced which provides easy control on side lobe level (SLL) especially for low values of below −20 dB. Furthermore, thanks to the compact nature of TEM-based RGW line in E-plane, the proposed structure, unlike its TE-based groove gap waveguide (GGW) counterpart does not suffer from the grating lobe problem when applied in a two-dimensional array. For proof of concept a 4x10 slot array based on the proposed RGW-based topology is designed and fabricated for operation at 15 GHz. Both simulation and measurement results show proper radiation performance including the gain of 20 dB and the SLL of −23 dB as well as the fixed beam over the antenna operating bandwidth.

提出了一种基于脊隙波导技术的中心馈送缝隙阵列天线。在所提出的结构中，没有引入孔径阻塞，从而可以轻松控制旁瓣电平（SLL），尤其是对于低于-20 dB的低值。此外，由于在E平面中基于TEM的RGW线的紧凑性，所提出的结构与基于TE的沟槽间隙波导（GGW）对应的结构不同，当应用于二维阵列时，不会出现光栅波瓣问题。为了进行概念验证，设计并制造了基于所建议的基于RGW的拓扑的4x10插槽阵列，以在15 GHz下工作。仿真和测量结果均显示出适当的辐射性能，包括20 dB的增益和−23 dB的SLL以及天线工作带宽上的固定波束。