In this paper, a titled-beam antenna based on spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) transmission lines (TLs) is proposed. The parallel SSPPs-TL is a slow-wave TL, which is able to limit waves in the TL strictly. By periodically introducing a set of tapered stubs along the SSPPs-TL, the backward endfire beams are formed by the surface waves in the slow-wave radiation region. Then, through the placement of a big metal plate below the endfire antenna, the backward endfire beams are tilted, and the tilted angle of the beams are steered by the distance of the metal plate and antenna. Over the band of 5.7 GHz~7.0 GHz, the tilted antenna performs constant shapes of radiation patterns. The gain keeps stable at around 12 dBi and the 1-dB gain bandwidth is 20%. The measured results of the fabricated prototypes confirm the design theory and simulated results.
Publisher's Note: “Bidirectional multi-mode microwave vortex beam generation enabled by spoof surface plasmon polaritons” [Appl. Phys Lett. 117, 241601 (2020)]