Design of A 94 GHz High-Efficiency Dual-Polarized Stacked-Patch Antenna in Package

This paper presents a high-efficiency aperture-coupled dual-polarized phased patch antenna array integrated in a PCB package in W-band application. A proposed stacked patch antenna is composed of two stripline feeding networks, two aperture-coupling slots in the antenna ground, a BGA spacer and two stacked patches. Its high efficiency can be achieved by using the BGA balls as spacers to create an air-filled cavity. The space between the stacked patches is selected to be λg/4. By optimizing geometries of the radiation patch and the feeding network, the proposed antenna shows good performance at W-band at the center frequency of 94 GHz. The simulated results reveal that the antenna performs an impedance bandwidth (IBW) with |S11|<-10 dB from 90.6 GHz to 96.6 GHz, and a peak gain of about 6.1 dBi at 94 GHz. The prototype antenna array consisting of 64 units with half-wavelength spacing gives a maximum gain of 22.9 dBi with the cross-polarization under than –18 dB. The beam steering range is up to ±40° in both E-plane and H-plane.

I. Introduction

The high efficiency antenna plays an important role in compact and cost-effective millimeter-wave systems [1]–[6]. So far, significant progress has been made in the development of millimeter-wave communication and image systems based on the antenna-in-package (AiP) solution due to its small size, wide impedance bandwidth and high data rate. For example, an antenna-in-package phased array has been used for 60 GHz communication systems using the low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology [7]–[8] and the multilayer organic-substrate technology [9]–[10]. It also uses the embedded wafer level ball grid array (eWLB) technology in a phased array for 60 GHz radar system [11].