A comprehensive review of integrated circuit antennas suitable for millimeter and terahertz applications is presented. A great deal of research was done on integrated circuit antennas in the last decade, and many of the problems associated with electrically thick dielectric substrates, such as substrate modes and poor radiation patterns, have been understood and solved. Several antennas, such as the integrated horn antenna, the dielectric-filled parabola, the Fresnel plate antenna, the dual-slot antenna, and the log-periodic and spiral antennas on extended hemispherical lenses, which have resulted in excellent performance at millimeter-wave frequencies, are covered in detail. A review of the efficiency definitions used with planar antennas is included. >

Millimeter-wave and terahertz integrated circuit antennas

The authors have been developing four kinds of lens-coupled antenna imaging arrays for operation at millimeter- and submillimeter-wave frequencies. Dipole antennas, Yagi-Uda trap-loaded antennas, and microstrip patches are compared from the viewpoint of matching with detectors and optical systems. The radiation patterns and input impedance of each antenna have been calculated and measured to attain the optimum matching using model experiments. The trap-loaded antenna arrays have been successfully applied to plasma diagnostics at the Tsukuba GAMMA 10 tandem mirror. >

Lens-coupled imaging arrays for the millimeter- and submillimeter-wave regions

Antennas and waveguides for the wavelength range 0.1-3 mm are considered. Emphasis is placed on those designs which lend themselves to integration with each other and with other components such as diodes. The general properties of FIR antennas are reviewed. A novel silicon waveguide antenna is discussed, and its design, simulation, fabrication, and performance at 119 μm are described. This antenna has a highly symmetrical, single-lobed beam with 3 dB beamwidths of 35 and 38° in the E - and H -planes, respectively. The gain (measured in microwave simulation) is 12.8 dB. This antenna is well suited for integration with Schottky diodes. The related subject of FIR waveguides is discussed. Experiments with metal transmission lines at 119 μm are described and dielectric guides related to the waveguide antenna are also considered. Using components such as these it may soon be possible to construct receiver front ends for this wavelength range in integrated-circuit form.

Antennas and waveguides for far-infrared integrated circuits

Slot line antennas intended for rnm-wave single beam applications as well as for imaging systems are experimentally investigated. In particular the Vivaldi antenna is investigated, and it is found that a 3 dB beam width of typically 30° is obtained and a 10 dB beam width of about 60° can be achieved. The 10 dB beam efficiency as defined in the text can be made about 60% as compared to 70% for a corrugated scalar horn.

Vivaldi Antennas for Single Beam Integrated Receivers

An imaging array consisting of five Yagi-Uda antennas in a dielectric has been constructed for 50 GHz that has antenna patterns suitable for millimetre-wave applications. Crosstalk levels of less than −30 dB between adjacent antennas in an f/1.0 imaging array have been measured in 5 GHz model experiments

Y. Daiku

Papers

Dielectric plate antenna for monolithic Schottky-diode detectors