60 GHz dual-polarized magneto-electric dipole antenna array with hybrid gap waveguide feeding network in low temperature co-fired ceramic technology

A 60 GHz 8 x 8 dual-polarized aperture-coupled magneto-electric (ME) dipole antenna array in low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology is proposed. Taking advantage of the LTCC technology of high integration, the antenna array is composed of three parts, including the wideband ME dipole elements, dual-polarized strip-line series feeding network and low-loss gap waveguide (GWG) feeding network. The ME dipole antenna element is fed by aperture coupling with 45 degrees rotation. Two separate orthogonal strip lines are located right below the aperture to realize dual polarization performance. The simulated -10 dB impedance bandwidth of the dual-polarized antenna element is 50-66.5 GHz with an isolation lower than -20 dB for two input ports. By employing the proposed radiating element, a 4 x 4 wide-band dual-polarized antenna subarray is realized by using strip-line series-feed technology. A compact hybrid low-loss feeding network is realized by combing the GWG technology with the strip-line series feed technology. For demonstration, one prototype was fabricated. The measured impedance bandwidth is 14.2% and 16.7% respectively for dual polarizations with |S-11| < -8 dB, and the port isolation is lower than -20 dB over the entire frequency band of interest.