Substrate Integrated Waveguide Cavity-Backed Slot Array Antenna Using High-Order Radiation Modes for Dual-Band Applications in K-Band

A novel compact dual-band cavity-backed substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) array antenna using high-order radiation modes has been proposed in this paper. The first high-order hybrid mode (superposition of TM310 and TM130) and the second high-order mode (TM320) of K-band in the SIW cavity are excited by an inductive window for dual-band application. The operation mechanism of high-order modes is analyzed and then verified through simulations by inserting metallic vias in different positions of the resonant SIW cavity. The designed subarray antenna has the advantages of high gain, high front-to-back ratio, and low cross-polarization level. To further validate the design idea, a dual-frequency band 2 x 2 array antenna has been fabricated and measured including reflection coefficients, realized gains, and radiation patterns. The measured results show that the 10-dB impedance bandwidths at resonant frequencies of 21 and 26 GHz are 800 MHz (3.7%) and 700 MHz (2.6%), and the realized gains at boresight direction are around 16 and 17.4 dBi, respectively. Moreover, the proposed array antenna also possesses both advantages of metallic cavity-backed antennas and planar patch antennas, such as low cost, easy fabrication with the printed circuit board technology, and integration with other planar circuits.