Low-Loss Compact Millimeter-Wave Power Divider/Combiner for Phased Array Systems

This letter presents a low-loss compact 60-GHz power divider/combiner (PD/C) for phased array systems. It is based on the Wilkinson power divider and employs coupled inductors with a shunt capacitor for low insertion loss and compact design. The power divider with a coupled inductor reduces the insertion loss by 0.4 dB at 60 GHz. The insertion loss is less than 0.7 dB, and the return loss is better than 10 dB over a range of 50-67 GHz. The measured isolation of the fabricated PD/C is up to 28 dB at 67 GHz. The fabricated PD/C has a compact core size of 0.0012 mm
²
. To the best of our knowledge, this power divider achieves the lowest insertion loss and the smallest core area of all published 60-GHz Wilkinson PDs/Cs.