End-fire tapered slot antenna

An end-fire tapered slot antenna, the end-fire tapered slot antenna comprising:

• a conductive ground plane including a pass-through opening recessed therein, the pass-through opening having a predetermined dimension and shape;
• a dual tapered slot element (DTSE) passing through the pass-through opening recessed in the conductive ground plane, the DTSE comprising:
• a substrate having two surfaces on opposite sides of the substrate, the substrate being made of a nonconductive material;
• a radiating portion comprising a first pair of radiating wings symmetrically arranged on the surface located on one side of the substrate, and a second pair of radiating wings symmetrically arranged on the surface, located on another side of the substrate, opposite to the first pair of radiating wings, the radiating wings having flared inner edges, flared lower edges and outer edges orthogonal to the conductive ground plane;
• a base portion electrically coupled to the radiating portion, the base portion comprising:
• a first pair of legs arranged on one surface of the substrate symmetrically with respect to a symmetry axis orthogonal to the conductive ground plane, and a second pair of legs symmetrically arranged on another surface of the substrate opposite to the first pair of legs, the first and second pairs of the legs passing through the pass-through opening of the conductive ground plane and being coupled to a feed line at a downmost part of the base portion on one of the surfaces, the legs of the first and second pairs having inner edges defining a corresponding slot line therebetween on each side of the substrate along the symmetry axis being orthogonal to said conductive ground plane, the slot line on each side of the substrate having a tapered shape and extending from a downmost part of the base portion towards the radiating portion gradually increasing a distance between the inner edges of the legs in accordance with a predetermined relationship;
• and
• a plurality of vias elements arranged only at the inner edges of the legs, and at the flared inner edges, flared lower edges and outer edges of the radiating wings in a spaced-apart relationship along an entire perimeter of the radiating wings, the vias elements electrically connecting the radiating wings and the legs arranged on the surfaces of the opposite sides of the substrate, correspondingly.