Wideband and Low-Profile High-Resistivity Silicon-Based Dielectric Resonant Antennas by Loading AMC

This communication presents the design of high-resistivity silicon-based dielectric resonant antennas (DRAs) by using microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. A stair-stepping-driven patch fed by through-silicon via (TSV) is specifically designed with a U-shaped slot that can reduce the inductive of TSV. An air cavity between dielectric resonator and driven patch is used to enhance the gain and bandwidth of DRA. The measured impedance bandwidth (-10 dB) of the Ka-band DRA is from 27 to 43 GHz with a maximum gain of 6.5 dB and 95% radiation efficiency at 38 GHz. The size of our proposed antenna is only 0.48 lambda(0) x 0.48 lambda(0) x 0.14 lambda(0). The thickness of our proposed Ku-band DRA can be further reduced from 0.14 lambda(0) to 0.06 lambda(0) by loading an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) structure on the top surface of DR. A Ku-band antenna is fabricated as an example. The measured fraction bandwidth (FBW) is 33% (-10 dB) from 14.2 to 19.8 GHz with a maximum gain of 6.5 dB and 94.7% radiation efficiency at 18 GHz. Good agreements between the simulated and measured results are obtained for both DRAs. The size of our proposed Ku-band antenna is only 0.51 lambda(0) x 0.51 lambda(0) x 0.06 lambda(0). The proposed DRAs can be further 3-D-integrated with other components by using bumps for future millimeter-wave (MMW) phased-array radar and communication systems.