Compact and Low-Profile On-Chip Antenna Using Underside Electromagnetic Coupling Mechanism for Terahertz Front-End Transceivers

The results presented in this paper show that by employing a combination of metasurface and substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technologies, we can realize a compact and low-profile antenna that overcomes the drawbacks of narrow-bandwidth and low-radiation properties encountered by terahertz antennas on-chip (AoC). In addition, an effective RF cross-shaped feed structure is used to excite the antenna from its underside by coupling, electromagnetically, RF energy through the multi-layered antenna structure. The feed mechanism facilitates integration with the integrated circuits. The proposed antenna is constructed from five stacked layers, comprising metal–silicon–metal–silicon–metal. The dimensions of the AoC are 1 × 1 × 0.265 mm3. The AoC is shown to have an impedance match, radiation gain and efficiency of ≤ −15 dB, 8.5 dBi and 67.5%, respectively, over a frequency range of 0.20–0.22 THz. The results show that the proposed AoC design is viable for terahertz front-end applications.

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Study on on-Chip Antenna Design Based on Metamaterial-Inspired and Substrate-Integrated Waveguide Properties for Millimetre-Wave and THz Integrated-Circuit Applications

Journal of Infrared Millimeter and Terahertz Waves ◽

10.1007/s10762-020-00753-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mohammad Alibakhshikenari ◽

Bal S. Virdee ◽

Ayman Abdulhadi Althuwayb ◽

Sonia Aïssa ◽

Chan H. See ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Integrated Circuits ◽

Ground Plane ◽

Silicon Layer ◽

Bottom Surface ◽

Impedance Bandwidth ◽

Substrate Integrated Waveguide ◽

Millimetre Wave ◽

Antenna Structure ◽

On Chip Antenna ◽

On Chip

Abstract This paper presents the results of a study on improving the performance parameters such as the impedance bandwidth, radiation gain and efficiency, as well as suppressing substrate loss of an innovative antenna for on-chip implementation for millimetre-wave and terahertz integrated-circuits. This was achieved by using the metamaterial and the substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) technologies. The on-chip antenna structure comprises five alternating layers of metallization and silicon. An array of circular radiation patches with metamaterial-inspired crossed-shaped slots are etched on the top metallization layer below which is a silicon layer whose bottom surface is metalized to create a ground plane. Implemented in the silicon layer below is a cavity above which is no ground plane. Underneath this silicon layer is where an open-ended microstrip feedline is located which is used to excite the antenna. The feed mechanism is based on the coupling of the electromagnetic energy from the bottom silicon layer to the top circular patches through the cavity. To suppress surface waves and reduce substrate loss, the SIW concept is applied at the top silicon layer by implementing the metallic via holes at the periphery of the structure that connect the top layer to the ground plane. The proposed on-chip antenna has an average measured radiation gain and efficiency of 6.9 dBi and 53%, respectively, over its operational frequency range from 0.285–0.325 THz. The proposed on-chip antenna has dimensions of 1.35 × 1 × 0.06 mm3. The antenna is shown to be viable for applications in millimetre-waves and terahertz integrated-circuits.

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On-Chip Antenna Design Using the Concepts of Metamaterial and SIW Principles Applicable to Terahertz Integrated Circuits Operating over 0.6–0.622 THz

International Journal of Antennas and Propagation ◽

10.1155/2020/6653095 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Ayman A. Althuwayb

Keyword(s):

Integrated Circuits ◽

Frequency Band ◽

Ground Plane ◽

Research Work ◽

Electromagnetic Signal ◽

Antenna Structure ◽

Feed Line ◽

On Chip Antenna ◽

Via Holes ◽

On Chip

This research work presents the investigation of realizing an on-chip antenna based on the metamaterial concept, which is working over the terahertz (THz) band for applications in integrated circuits. The proposed on-chip antenna is constructed of five stacked layers of polyimide and aluminum as top and bottom substrates, radiation patches, ground plane, and feed line. The four square-shaped radiation patches are implemented on the 50 μ m top-polyimide substrate, and the feed line is realized on the 50 μ m bottom-polyimide layer by designing the simple square microstrip lines, which are all connected to each other and then excited by waveguide port. The ground plane including a coupling square slot has sandwiched between the top- and bottom-polyimide layers. The coupling square slot etched on the ground plane is exactly placed under the patch to optimum transfer the electromagnetic signal from the bottom feed line to the top radiation patch. To achieve high performance parameters without increasing the antenna's physical dimensions, the metamaterial and substrate integrated waveguide properties have been applied to the antenna structure by implementing linear tapered slots on the patch top surfaces and metallic via holes throughout the middle ground plane connecting top and bottom substrates to each other. The slots play the role of series left-handed (LH) capacitors (CL) and the via holes act as shunt LH inductors (LL). The overall dimension of the proposed metamaterial-based on-chip antenna is 1000 × 1000 × 100 μm3. This antenna can cover the frequency band from 0.6 THz to 0.622 THz, which is equal to 20 GHz bandwidth. The radiation gain and efficiency across the operating frequency band varies from 1.1 dBi to 1.8 dBi, and from 58% to 60.5%, respectively. The results confirm that the proposed on-chip antenna with compact dimensions, wide bandwidth over the terahertz domain, low profile, cost effective, simple configuration, and easy to manufacture can be potentially appropriate for terahertz integrated circuits.

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A fishbone-shape on-chip antenna structure based on silicon nitride photonics

2019 24th OptoElectronics and Communications Conference (OECC) and 2019 International Conference on Photonics in Switching and Computing (PSC) ◽

10.23919/ps.2019.8818168 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Bo Yang ◽

Hongwei Chen ◽

Sigang Yang ◽

Zunlong Liu ◽

Qiang Geng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Silicon Nitride ◽

Antenna Structure ◽

On Chip Antenna ◽

On Chip

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An Efficient CMOS On-Chip Antenna Structure for System in Package Transceiver Applications

2007 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium ◽

10.1109/rws.2007.351874 ◽

2007 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Mohammad Reza Nezhad Ahmadi ◽

Safieddin Safavi-Naeini ◽

Lei Zhu

Keyword(s):

Antenna Structure ◽

On Chip Antenna ◽

On Chip

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A Broadband THz On-Chip Transition Using a Dipole Antenna with Integrated Balun

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics7100236 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (10) ◽

pp. 236 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Wonseok Choe ◽

Jinho Jeong

Keyword(s):

Integrated Circuits ◽

Insertion Loss ◽

Low Cost ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Equivalent Circuit Model ◽

Dipole Antenna ◽

Impedance Match ◽

Inp Substrate ◽

On Chip ◽

High Dielectric

A waveguide-to-microstrip transition is an essential component for packaging integrated circuits (ICs) in rectangular waveguides, especially at millimeter-wave and terahertz (THz) frequencies. At THz frequencies, the on-chip transitions, which are monolithically integrated in ICs are preferred to off-chip transitions, as the former can eliminate the wire-bonding process, which can cause severe impedance mismatch and additional insertion loss of the transitions. Therefore, on-chip transitions can allow the production of low cost and repeatable THz modules. However, on-chip transitions show limited performance in insertion loss and bandwidth, more seriously, this is an in-band resonance issue. These problems are mainly caused by the substrate used in the THz ICs, such as an indium phosphide (InP), which exhibits a high dielectric constant, high dielectric loss, and high thickness, compared with the size of THz waveguides. In this work, we propose a broadband THz on-chip transition using a dipole antenna with an integrated balun in the InP substrate. The transition is designed using three-dimensional electromagnetic (EM) simulations based on the equivalent circuit model. We show that in-band resonances can be induced within the InP substrate and also prove that backside vias can effectively eliminate these resonances. Measurement of the fabricated on-chip transition in 250 nm InP heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology, shows wideband impedance match and low insertion loss at H-band frequencies (220–320 GHz), without in-band resonances, due to the properly placed backside vias.

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