A High-Gain Terahertz Leaky-Wave Meta-Antenna Based on Parabolic Reflector Feeding

A terahertz leaky-wave meta-antenna with high-gain and high-efficiency fed by a parabolic reflector is proposed. The input waves through a rectangular waveguide port propagate in the parallel-plate metallic waveguide as a divergent TE10 mode and are then collimated by a parabolic reflector. Consequently, the beam width significantly increases, resulting in a line-like source. A meta-slit array is arranged behind the parabolic reflector to convert the TE10 guided waves into free-space waves and simultaneously control the phase distribution on the radiation surface. At the frequency of 0.14 THz, the antenna, comprising only 20 meta-slits, demonstrates a high gain of 33.2 dBi and a high radiation efficiency of 90.1%. The measured and simulated results are in good agreement. The proposed high-gain and high-radiation-efficiency terahertz leaky-wave meta-antenna without a complex feeding network has great potential in sixthgeneration mobile communication systems, radar detection, and security screening.