Substrate integrated waveguide or SIW is a quasi-waveguide structure, which can be realized on PCB and LTCC process and has the potential to replace traditional rectangular waveguide. In contrast with conventional waveguide structure, it takes the advantages of low profile, easy to fabricate and easy to be integrated with other integrated components etc. A slot array antenna can be realized by etching slots on the surface of a SIW.In this thesis, the electrical characteristics of the SIW slot were thoroughly analyzed. Elliott's three design equations were employed to design uniform and bayliss distribution SIW slot arrays. Variations of different design parameters on antenna performance were discussed. In addition, an omnidirectional SIW slot array antenna was designed and fabricated using image theory, which was validated by both software simulation and measured results. |