Low side-lobe level pattern synthesis of optical leaky-wave antennas

It is well-known that the reduction of side lobes is important for decreasing interference with components in an optical system, as well as obtaining high information security and lowering power losses. This paper introduces a procedure, based on the simultaneous control of the phase and leakage constants, through which the side-lobe level (SLL) of an optical leaky-wave antenna (OLWA) can be controlled. The synthesis procedure is portrayed using a low SLL conventional OLWA i.e., grating waveguide (GWG). The standard telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm is considered as the operating wavelength. The simulation results confirm the accuracy of the design procedure. According to the results, the antenna has a low SLL of - 29 dB and a high gain of 26 dBi. The reflection coefficient of the resulting antenna, - 31 dB at the design wavelength, makes the antenna suitable for optical wireless communications.