A microfabricated low-profile wideband antenna array for terahertz communications

K. M. Luk; S. F. Zhou; Y. J. Li; F. Wu; K. B. Ng; C. H. Chan; S. W. Pang

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-01276-4

A microfabricated low-profile wideband antenna array for terahertz communications

K. M. Luk, S. F. Zhou^*, Y. J. Li^*, F. Wu, K. B. Ng, C. H. Chan, S. W. Pang^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

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Abstract

While terahertz communications are considered to be the future solutions for the increasing demands on bandwidth, terahertz equivalents of radio frequency front-end components have not been realized. It remains challenging to achieve wideband, low profile antenna arrays with highly directive beams of radiation. Here, based on the complementary antenna approach, a wideband 2 × 2 cavity-backed slot antenna array with a corrugated surface is proposed. The approach is based on a unidirectional antenna with a cardiac radiation pattern and stable frequency characteristics that is achieved by integrating a series-resonant electric dipole with a parallel-resonant magnetic dipole. In this design, the slots work as magnetic dipoles while the corrugated surface radiates as an array of electric dipoles. The proposed antenna is realized at 1 THz operating frequency by stacking multiple metallized layers using the microfabrication technology. S-parameter measurements of this terahertz low-profile metallic antenna array demonstrate high efficiency at terahertz frequencies. Fractional bandwidth and gain are measured to be 26% and 14 dBi which are consistent with the simulated results. The proposed antenna can be used as the building block for larger antenna arrays with more directive beams, paving the way to develop high gain low-profile antennas for future communication needs.

Original language	English
Article number	1268
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	7
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-01276-4
Publication status	Published - 28 Apr 2017

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the Centre for Biosystems, Neuroscience, and Nanotechnology (CBNN) and City University of Hong Kong under projects 9360148 and 9380062. This work was also supported by the University Grants Council of Hong Kong (GRF Projects 120413, 11210814 and 11247716; CRF Project: C1013-15G). We gratefully appreciate the research team and technical staff at CBNN and Optoelectronics Laboratory for their technical support.

Research Keywords

RECTANGULAR PATCH ANTENNA
ON-CHIP
DESIGN
FABRICATION
EFFICIENCY
SILICON
SYSTEMS
CMOS

Publisher's Copyright Statement

This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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abstract = "While terahertz communications are considered to be the future solutions for the increasing demands on bandwidth, terahertz equivalents of radio frequency front-end components have not been realized. It remains challenging to achieve wideband, low profile antenna arrays with highly directive beams of radiation. Here, based on the complementary antenna approach, a wideband 2 × 2 cavity-backed slot antenna array with a corrugated surface is proposed. The approach is based on a unidirectional antenna with a cardiac radiation pattern and stable frequency characteristics that is achieved by integrating a series-resonant electric dipole with a parallel-resonant magnetic dipole. In this design, the slots work as magnetic dipoles while the corrugated surface radiates as an array of electric dipoles. The proposed antenna is realized at 1 THz operating frequency by stacking multiple metallized layers using the microfabrication technology. S-parameter measurements of this terahertz low-profile metallic antenna array demonstrate high efficiency at terahertz frequencies. Fractional bandwidth and gain are measured to be 26% and 14 dBi which are consistent with the simulated results. The proposed antenna can be used as the building block for larger antenna arrays with more directive beams, paving the way to develop high gain low-profile antennas for future communication needs.",

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AB - While terahertz communications are considered to be the future solutions for the increasing demands on bandwidth, terahertz equivalents of radio frequency front-end components have not been realized. It remains challenging to achieve wideband, low profile antenna arrays with highly directive beams of radiation. Here, based on the complementary antenna approach, a wideband 2 × 2 cavity-backed slot antenna array with a corrugated surface is proposed. The approach is based on a unidirectional antenna with a cardiac radiation pattern and stable frequency characteristics that is achieved by integrating a series-resonant electric dipole with a parallel-resonant magnetic dipole. In this design, the slots work as magnetic dipoles while the corrugated surface radiates as an array of electric dipoles. The proposed antenna is realized at 1 THz operating frequency by stacking multiple metallized layers using the microfabrication technology. S-parameter measurements of this terahertz low-profile metallic antenna array demonstrate high efficiency at terahertz frequencies. Fractional bandwidth and gain are measured to be 26% and 14 dBi which are consistent with the simulated results. The proposed antenna can be used as the building block for larger antenna arrays with more directive beams, paving the way to develop high gain low-profile antennas for future communication needs.

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A microfabricated low-profile wideband antenna array for terahertz communications

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Research Keywords

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