Time-Domain Analysis of Modified Vivaldi Antennas

Abstract

In the ultra-wideband (UWB) application frequency domain parameters such as gain, group delay isn’t sufficient to demonstrate the performance of the antenna. Besides frequency domain analysis, a time-domain analysis is required to characterize the transient behavior of UWB antennas for pulsed operations since pulse distortion of the UWB antenna reduces the system performance and decreases the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the UWB communication system. Vivaldi antenna is a widely used UWB antenna, especially in microwave imaging applications. Performance of Vivaldi antennas is enhanced by adding corrugation on the edge of exponential flaring and/or grating elements on the slot area. From the measured scattering parameters of modified Vivaldi antennas, pulse preserving capabilities are observed. Pulse width extension and fidelity factor parameters are used to define the similarity between the transmitted and received pulse. The analysis is performed with angular dependence with respect to the signal transmitted at the main beam direction.