Properties of a radiating discontinuity on a corrugated surface transmission line

Although much work has been done, both theoretically and experimentally, on surface wave transmission lines and surface wave radiators; no data have been available regarding the radiation properties and equivalent net-work representation of radiating discontinuity on the surface wave transmission line. An experiment was designed to obtain the free-space radiation patterns and equivalent network representation of a discontinuity on a corrugated surface-wave transmission line as a function of the parameters of the discontinuity and line. Data obtained were then used to formulate an empirical theory which furnishes the four-terminal network representation and free-space radiation characteristics. These data and the empirical theory allow the design of shaped beam antennas, physically realized by surface-wave transmission lines utilizing corrugation discontinuities as the radiating elements, to be carried out by current linear array design theories.