60 GHz single-layer slot-array antenna fed by groove gap waveguide

A V-band single-layer low-loss slot-array antenna is presented in this letter. Radiating slots are backed by coaxial cavities, which are fed through a groove gap waveguide E-plane corporate feed network. Cavity resonances are created by shortening nails with respect to the surrounding ones. This fact enables a compact single-layer architecture since coaxial cavities and feeding network can share the same bed of nails. A 16 x 16 array is designed, constructed, and measured to demonstrate the viability of this concept for high-gain single-layer slot-array antennas. In addition, this solution can be extended to circular polarization by seamlessly adding a polarizer above the slots without changing the feeding network piece. Measurements show a relative bandwidth of 10% with input reflection coefficient better than -10 dB and a mean antenna efficiency above 70% within the operating frequency band (57-66 GHz).