Current trends and future perspective of designing on-chip antennas

Abstract

With the evolution of 5G and 6G network architectures, the demand for highly compact system-on-chip-based devices with high data transfer capabilities has been increased significantly. While the advancement of very large-scale integration technology with the continuous scaling of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor nodes put forward to integrate different functional modules of a complete system on a single IC board, the antenna being the largest component still remains outside of the chip. Integration of the antenna and other functional modules of a system on the same chip leads to produce a really compact and economical design. Though on-chip antenna (OCAs) have several other advantages and emerging applications, they have some design challenges in terms of low gain due to losses in the substrate, requirement of miniaturization at lower microwave frequencies (LMFs) (particularly, below 10 GHz), unavailability of proper design rules, etc. In this paper, analyzing the design challenges of OCAs, their current research trends and future perspective applications are discussed.

Wireless Communication in Electro-Mechanical Systems: Investigating the Rise and Implications of Cordless Interfaces for System Enhancement

“…The review underscores the importance of heterogeneous integration in achieving the data rate and efficiency metrics required for 5G networks (Watanabe et al, 2020). Singh and Mandal (2022) focus on the current trends and future perspectives of designing onchip antennas (OCAs). With the evolution of 5G and 6G network architectures, there is an increased demand for compact system-on-chip-based devices.…”

“…However, designing OCAs presents challenges such as low gain due to substrate losses and the need for miniaturization at lower microwave frequencies. The paper discusses these challenges and the emerging applications of OCAs, highlighting their significance in the development of highly integrated wireless systems (Singh and Mandal, 2022). The integration and miniaturization trends in wireless systems are characterized by several key aspects.…”

On-Chip Circularly Polarized Circular Loop Antennas Utilizing 4H-SiC and GaAs Substrates in the Q/V Band

“…Most of the reported on-chip antenna designs are based on utilizing Si or GaAs wafers as substrates. However, such materials suffer from relatively high dielectric losses, causing the antenna’s radiation efficiency to deteriorate at higher frequencies [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Additionally, the higher dielectric constants of 12 and 12.94 for Si and GaAs substrates, respectively, may result in a stronger surface wave excitation for a given wafer thickness.…”