A 60-GHz on-chip tapered slot Vivaldi antenna with improved radiation characteristics

Abstract

This paper presents a design of 60-GHz exponential tapered slot Vivaldi antenna-on-chip (AOC). The antenna is designed using standard 0.18µm six metal-layers CMOS technology. A double-Y balun feeding structure is used to make transition from coplanar waveguide to slot-line. Two techniques are investigated for improving antenna radiation properties. The first technique incorporates equal corrugations on the edges of exponential flaring section and other on the backed-edge of antenna to enhance the antenna gain. Second, a planar arc reflector is constructed using metal vias between M6 and M1 to inhibit the back lobe, contributing to the enhancement of gain and efficiency. The overall antenna size is compact and equal to 785µm×930µm. The influence of the antenna position on the radiation properties is also studied. The proposed antenna offers endfire radiation pattern with a simulated peak gain and a radiation efficiency of -0.4 dBi and 32%, respectively.

Beam-Steering Performance of Flat Luneburg Lens at 60 GHz for Future Wireless Communications

“…Flat feeds of various types, trading versatility, and cost are being developed, including switched-beam configurations, being lower in cost but less versatile, and small phased arrays, being cheaper than full phased arrays without a lens and potentially more versatile than the switched-beam feed. The continued development of chip antennas at 60 GHz (e.g., [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]) offers an alternative route to an integrated and compact feed. One advantage of a PCB-based feed is that the PCB substrate layer can be incorporated into the TrE lens design.…”

Performance-Issues-Mitigation-Techniques for On-Chip-Antennas – Recent Developments in RF, MM-Wave, and Thz Bands With Future Directions

“…Several MM-Wave frequency bands find their use in a plethora of different valuable applications. The unlicensed 60 GHz band, for example, can be used for Wireless personal area network, (WPAN), radiometry, radio astronomy, broadband radio communication [14], [17], [32]- [35] and short range wireless communications with high data rates and frequency reuse benefits [36], [37]. MM-Wave radars are gaining importance in numerous applications like industrial, automotive, remote control sensing, material characterization, imaging, and security systems [22], [29], [38].…”

“…Optimized for the other components of the SoC based wireless systems, these technologies are not favorable for AoC design because of the values of the permittivity and resistivity of their substrates. Typical commercial CMOS technology substrate has high permittivity (ε r ≈ 11.7) and low resistivity (10 Ω-cm) [1], [2], [14], [15], [17], [18], [21], [22], [24], [29], [30], [32], [34], [36], [37], [41]. These values are beneficial for wireless ICs in several ways.…”

“…So, an opposite set of performance criteria for the antenna and other components of transceiver system in terms of Si substrate properties is the major challenge. Moreover, high permittivity of Si substrate espouses surface waves and high back radiations which severally degrade AoC's radiation efficiency [1], [2], [14], [15], [17], [19], [50], as shown in Figure 3 (a). Hence, these values degrade the gain, directivity, and radiation efficiency (i.e.…”

“…Hence, these values degrade the gain, directivity, and radiation efficiency (i.e. performance) of AoC and thus make CMOS substrate a lossy one for AoC design [1], [2], [14], [15], [17], [20]- [22], [24], [25], [29], [31], [32], [35], [42], [47]. This, thus, dictates the need for innovative performance-issues-mitigation-techniques for AoCs.…”