Planar High-Gain Dielectric-Loaded Antipodal Linearly Tapered Slot Antenna for $E$- and $W$-Band Gigabyte Point-to-Point Wireless Services

Abstract

The concept of substrated integrated waveguide (SIW)-fed horn and antipodal linearly tapered slot antenna (ALTSA) are jointly used to design a low-cost, high-gain, and efficient planar dielectric-loaded antenna for ultra-wideband gigabyte wireless services, which are demonstrated over <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">E</i> - and <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">W</i> -bands. SIW is used to feed the proposed antenna. To increase the gain of the antenna, a dielectric-loaded slab is used in front of the antenna and works as a dielectric guiding structure. The SIW feed, the proposed antenna, and the loaded dielectric are all integrated in a planar single layer substrate, resulting in low cost and easy fabrication. Low-cost printed circuit board (PCB) process is utilized to fabricate the antenna structure with rectangular and elliptical shaped loaded dielectrics. Measured bandwidth of the antenna covers both <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">E</i> - and <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">W</i> -bands (70-110 GHz). Measured gain of the single-element antenna is 14±0.5 dBi, while the measured radiation efficiency of 84.23% is obtained at 80 GHz. Wideband SIW power dividers are used to form a 1 × 4 array structure. Measured gain of the 1 × 4 array antenna is 19±1 dBi, while the measured radiation pattern and gain are almost constant within the wide bandwidth of the antenna.