Wideband, Balanced-Fed 60 GHz Antennas for Integrated Transceivers on LTCC Substrate

Marta Martnez Vzquez(1), Sybille Holzwarth(1), Christos Oikonomopoulos-Zachos(1) and Alejandro Rivera (2)
IMST GmbH Carl-Friedrich-Gauss-Str. 2-4, 47475 Kamp-Lintfort, Germany martinez@imst.de, holzwarth@imst.de, christos@imst.de (2) Dpto. Teora de la Seal y Comunicaciones, U. Carlos III Avenida de la Universidad, 30, 28911 Legans, (Spain) arivera@tsc.uc3.es
Abstract This paper presents novel antennas on DuPont 943 LTCC substrate with a balanced feed, designed to operate in the 60 GHz frequency range, foreseen for future high data rate WLAN systems and broadband multimedia applications. These antennas display not only good matching and radiation properties, but also the use of LTCC material allows for a high degree of integration with different RF circuits.
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resulting antennas display a very large bandwidth and pattern stability, which makes them highly suitable for the applications described above. II. DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS: The first phase of the EASY-A project includes the design of the antennas for the tag (that is, the mobile station). Table 1 shows the preliminary design specifications chosen for the prototypes of the tag. The frequency band of interest was limited in these first prototypes to the band available worldwide for 60 GHz unlicensed applications. A number of literature references can be found which deal with antennas for the millimetre waves applications at 60 GHz [7]-[12]. These include variations of the patch antenna, dipoles, yagi and vivaldi antennas, which can be used for certain applications. Yet, those are hard to adapt to the problem considered here, due to their bandwidth, radiation patterns or fabrication.
TABLE 1 PRELIMINARY DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TAG ANTENNAS.

I. INTRODUCTION Nowadays, there is a growing demand for large data rates in wireless networks. Moving towards transfer rates with magnitudes of gigabits per second supposes a tremendous challenge, as this can only be accomplished by either increasing the spectral efficiency of the transmission or moving into higher frequency bands, in the millimetre wave region, which were not used for mobile communication so far. Currently, the possibility of using the 60 GHz band for these applications with high data rates is been considered [1]-[2], with the first commercial products being presented. The interest in the 60 GHz band has been based mostly in two facts. First, the FCC has opened a 7 GHz-wide unlicensed band around 60 GHz band; and secondly, a standard for mmwave communications is being developed by IEEE [3]. Moreover, several industrial companies, associated through Wireless Gigabit Alliance [4], have announced the completion of its unified wireless WiGig specification, which should allow for data transmission rates up to 7 Gbps. The Easy-A project [5], funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), investigates efficient systems and concepts for the implementation of a 60 GHz WLAN system for video streaming in an aircraft or vehicle and fast wireless data synchronization links for consumer applications. In this context, IMST is developing 60 GHz antennas to be integrated into the transceiver frontend. The goal is to explore the feasibility of combining both the RF chips and circuitry and the antennas on the same LTCC module. To optimise the power transfer, antennas with balanced feed are preferred. This paper will show the results of the first technology run of these 60 GHz balanced-fed antennas, designed on DuPont 943 LTCC substrate [6]. The use of LTCC substrate allows for a high degree of integration of the antennas and the RF circuits, as well as a large flexibility in the design. The

Polarisation Frequency band Impedance bandwidth Reflection coefficient Number of elements Directivity 3dB Beamwidth Maximum size

linear 59.5 GHz 62 GHz 3 GHz: -10 dB 1x1 / 2x1 4-8 dBi ~80 0.5 cm x 0.5cm

III. ANTENNA GEOMETRY The antennas considered here consist of LTCC-filled radiating cavities, which behave as aperture antennas. The side walls of the cavities are realised with metal-filled vias. The LTCC substrate employed to implement both the antennas and the transceivers is the 943 Low Loss Green TapeTM from DuPont. Its main characteristics are listed in Table 2.

TABLE 2 TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DUPONT LTCC 943

turn will have an important effect on the antenna performance and has to be carefully analysed.
0 Reflection coefficient (dB)

Layer thickness (m, unfired) X, Y shrinkage (%) Z shrinkage (%) Dielectric constant @ 40 GHz Loss tangent @ 40 GHz

125 9 9.5 0.3 10.3 0.5 7.4 0.002

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A. Single radiating element To validate the concept, a single radiating element was considered. It can be used as a stand-alone antenna, or as part of a larger array. The first simulations were carried out with cavities with solid metal walls. The resulting structure is depicted in Fig. 1. The LTCC material is not shown, to allow a view into the cavity. The resonance frequency will be determined by the depth of the cavity, that is, the number of LTCC layers. This should be close to /4 at the desired frequency. The side walls have been tapered to increase the bandwidth of the structure. A stripline is used as probe to excite the radiating modes in the cavity.
Feed Metal LTCC-filled cavity

-10

-15

-20 50 55 60 Frequency (GHz) 65 70

Fig. 2: Reflection coefficient of the single element.

The final antenna structure is presented in Fig. 3. The simulations of the antenna with via walls still display a large impedance bandwidth, as shown in Fig. 4. It can be appreciated that replacing the metal walls with the vias causes a frequency shift, but has no negative effect on the achievable impedance bandwidth.

Fig. 1: Antenna structure.

In this case, 5 LTCC layers were needed to design the antenna at 60 GHz. This means that 6 different layers of metallisation can be used. The total height of the LTCC structure after firing will thus be 520 m. The size of the antenna aperture on the upper substrate layer is 1400 m x 2880 m. The structure was simulated using the commercial EM solver EmpireTM [13]. The results displayed in Fig. 2 suggest that it should be possible to comply with the bandwidth requirements. The simulation results do not take into account any losses in the materials or any fabrication tolerances at this point. In the final implementation of the antennas, the metallic walls that limit the LTCC-filled cavities consist of metalfilled via holes. Technological limitations impose a minimum distance of 350 m between two consecutive vias. This distance represents around /6 in the substrate, therefore the walls will not be completely impermeable to the electromagnetic waves at the operating frequencies. This in

Fig. 3: Implementation of the antenna (left, LTCC not shown for clarity), and cut through the structure.

0 Reflection coefficient (dB)

-5

-10

-15

-20 50 55 60 Frequency (GHz) 65 70

Fig. 4: Reflection coefficient of the single antenna element with via walls.

The radiation patterns show a good stability in the whole band of interest, as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. For the centre frequency (60 GHz), a directivity of 5.5 dBi is obtained. The 3 dB beamwidth is around 95 in azimuth, and 85 in elevation. Due to the spurious radiation of the probe, a slight asymmetry in the azimuth cut can be observed.
10 5
Amplitude (dBi)

large to effectively screen the lines and the cavities, strong mutual coupling between the elements and the feeding networks will occur. This effect will have s large influence on the antenna performance.

0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -90 -75 -60 -45 -30 -15 0 15 30 45 60 75 90

Frequency (GHz)

Fig. 7: Symmetrically-fed 2x1 array (LTCC removed for clarity).

Fig. 8 shows the simulated reflection coefficient of the antenna. In this case, losses in the conductors and the LTCC substrate have been included in the simulations. A bandwidth of around 6.5 GHz (10.8%) is achieved if the antenna array alone is considered.
0 Reflection coefficient (dB) -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 50 55 60 Frequency (GHz) 65 70

57 GHz Etheta

60 GHz Etheta

63 GHz Etheta

Fig. 5: Simulated radiation pattern of antenna element, azimuth (E, =0).

10 5
Amplitude (dBi)

0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -90 -75 -60 -45 -30 -15 0 15 30 45 60 75 90

Frequency (GHz)

Fig. 8: Reflection coefficient of the 2x1, balanced-fed array

57 GHz Ephi

60 GHz Ephi

63 GHz Ephi

Fig. 6: Simulated radiation pattern of antenna element, elevation (E, =0).

B. Balanced-feed antenna As mentioned previously, it would be desirable to use balanced-fed antennas, in order to optimise the power transfer between the differential RF transceivers and the radiating elements, without using a balun. To achieve this goal, two of the above described elements can be combined to form a 2x1 array with symmetrical feeding, as depicted in Fig. 7. In this case, the two sides of the array are excited with signals of opposite phases (0 and 180), which can be obtained directly from the differential output of the foreseen transceivers. Again, as the distance between via holes is too

Yet, this bandwidth is calculated using a reference impedance of 37 , as the technology limitations for the width of the stripline do not allow the use of 50 lines (less than 100 m in width). Additional impedance matching circuits will be needed to connect the antenna to the RF frontend in the real implementation of the module. This matching circuit, as well as the losses in the feeding networks and the interface to the RF frontend, will probably reduce the achievable bandwidth of the system. In any case, the results obtained in the simulation show bandwidth much larger than the 2.5 GHz that were the goal of this phase of the project, which still leaves a margin to address this issues. The directivity of the 2x1 antenna array as an isolated element is shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. A directivity value of around 8.5 dBi is obtained at the centre of the frequency band, with a frequency stability of about 0.5 dB for the

lower and upper band limits considered. Only the main component is shown, as the cross-polarisation levels are extremely low.
10

with the 2x1 array, yet the results deviate from those predicted by the simulation.
0 -5 Reflexion coefficient (dB) -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 -35

Amplitude (dB)

-5

-10

-15

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

Frequency (GHz)
-20 -90 -75 -60 -45 -30 -15 0 15 30 45 60 75 90

Simulation

Sample 7

Sample 8

Sample 9

Theta () 57GHz 60GHz 63GHz

Fig. 11: Reflection coefficients of the 2x1 array (including WG transition). Simulation vs. measurements.

Fig. 9: Simulated radiation pattern of 2x1 array, azimuth (E, =0).

10 5

0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -90 -75 -60 -45 -30 -15 0 15 30 45 60 75 90

Although the measurements show a frequency shift with respect to the simulations, a bandwidth of around 5 GHz can still be achieved, which is very promising for the applications considered here. The reason of the discrepancies between simulation and measurements can be attributed to tolerances in the technological process, deviations in the material parameters with respect to the nominal values and the effect of the transition between the waveguide and the striplines. These effects will be carefully investigated to update the layouts accordingly for the next LTCC production run. Discrepancies can also be observed in the radiation patterns, as shown in Fig. 12. Here, the effects of the ground plane and the flange used in the measurements will have to be studied.
10

Amplitude (dB)

Theta ()
57GHz 60GHz 63GHz

5 Simulation C(=90 ) Simulation C(=0 ) Sample 8, E-plane co. Sample 8, H-plane co. Sample 9, E-plane co. Sample 9, H-plane co.

Fig. 10: Simulated radiation pattern of the 2x1 array, elevation (E, =0)

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IV. MEASUREMENT RESULTS To measure the performance of the antennas, several prototypes with a waveguide transition on the backside (opposite to the antenna aperture) were designed and fabricated. The structure of the transition is similar to that of the radiating elements, namely a tapered, LTCC-filled aperture. To match the structure to the waveguide, a cavity was etched in the LTCC. The signal from a standard WR-15 waveguide will thus be coupled to two striplines, with a phase difference of 180 between them, which is desired for the symmetrically-fed antennas. Fig. 11 displays a comparison between the results of the simulation of the whole structure (including WG-transition) and the measurements performed on two different antenna prototypes. Over 4 GHz impedance bandwidth is obtained

Gain [dBi]

-10

-15

-20

-25

-30 -100

-80

-60

-40

-20

20

40

60

80

100

Angle [degrees]

Fig. 12: Measured radiation patterns. 2D cuts at 60 GHz

The performance of the antennas, regarding both impedance matching and radiation properties, remains the same for all the samples considered. Therefore the

technological process can be considered stable, and these minor errors can be compensated by tweaking the layout of the antenna structure before the second LTCC run. CONCLUSIONS The results of the simulations show that such antennas are well suited for high capacity WLAN applications at 60 GHz. The results can be extended to larger arrays, to increase the gain and thus optimise the link budget. Still, there seem to be some problems with the antenna design, as the measurements results deviate from the simulations. These problems are mainly due to manufacturing and material tolerances, and will be carefully investigated in the next phase of the work. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work has been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) trough grant number 01BU0807. It has benefitted from the collaborations established within the COST Action IC0603 (ASSIST). [1] REFERENCES P. Smulders, Exploiting the 60 GHz Band for Local Wireless Multimedia Access: Prospects and Future Directions, IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 40, n 1, pp. 140-147, Jan. 2002. B. Razavi, Gadgets Gap at 60 GHz, IEEE Spectrum, Feb. 2008. IEEE 802.15.3 standard, http://www.ieee802.org/. Wireless Gigabit Alliance, http://wirelessgigabitalliance.org/ EASY-A: Enablers for Ambient Services & Systems, Part A - 60 GHz Broadband Links, http://www.easya.de/ 943 Low Loss Green Tape Thick Film Composition, Product Data Sheet, DuPont Microcircuits Materials, MCM943 (8/03), 2003. A.E.I. Lamminen, J. Sily, and A.R. Vimpari 60-GHz Patch Antennas and Arrays on LTCC with EmbeddedCavity Substrates, IEEE Trans. On Antennas & Propag., vol. 56, n 9, pp. 2865-2874, Sept. 2008. W. Byun, B.-S. Kim, K.-S. Kim, M.-S. Kang, and M.-S. Song, Stacked Circular Patch Antenna with Monopole Type Pattern for 60GHz WPAN Application, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Symposium, San Diego (USA), July 2008. T. Seki, N. Honma, K. Nishikawa, and K. Tsunekawa, A 60 GHz Multilayer Parasitic Array Antenna on LTCC Substrate for System on Package, IEEE Microw. And Wireless Comp. Lett., vol. 15, n 5, pp. 339-341, May 2005. W. L. Chang, and Y. P. Zhang 60-GHz Broadband Folded Dipole Array, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Symposium, San Diego (USA), July 2008. M. Sun, Y.P. Zhang, K.M. Chua, L.L. Wai, D.Liu, and B.P Gaucher,. Integration of Yagi Antenna in LTCC Package for Differential 60-GHz Radio, IEEE Trans.

On Antennas & Propag., vol. 56, n 8, pp. 2780-2783, Aug. 2008. [12] S.J. Franson, A 60 GHz high frequency transceiver, created in an LTCC substrate, with dual polarization tapered slot antennas, Motorola, Inc, 2006. [13] EMPIRE XCcel Reference Manual, http://www.empire.de/.

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