Experimental verification of leaky waves on a microstrip line

It is well known that leaky waves can be found in addition to the bound wave on planar transmission lines at proper frequency ranges. This effect is documented here under the real conditions of a microstrip line of finite dimensions excited by a real source supplying finite power. The presence of these modes depends on the dimensions of the microstrip and on the frequency of the source. This paper describes an experimental verification that illustrates the existence of leaky waves on the microstrip line.