Wide bandwidth balanced antipodal tapered slot antenna and array including a magnetic slot

摘要

A balanced, antipodal tapered slot antenna includes one or more antenna elements or unit cells having metallic cross walls that are located in spaces between the adjacent elements of the antenna. The elements can include vias interconnecting metallic conductors of the elements and one or more magnetic slots in the metallic conductors. A plurality of the antenna elements or unit cells can be arranged in an antenna array that has a mirrored configuration with adjacent intermediate neighboring elements of the antenna array mirrored one-dimensionally with elements reversed along the E-plane, or doubly-mirrored, two-dimensionally, in the E-plane and the H-plane by reversing the orientation of alternate elements. Metallic cross walls and metallic rods are disposed in a non-electrically contacting relationship with adjacent antenna elements. The substrate of the antenna includes dielectric material located at the aperture of the antenna element.