A 60-GHz CPW-Fed High-Gain and Broadband Integrated Horn Antenna

An integrated horn antenna is presented for 60-GHz WPAN applications. Compared with other types of antenna for 60-GHz WPAN applications, an integrated horn antenna features wide bandwidth and high gain. This integrated H-plane horn is elevated on the top of the substrate using CMOS-compatible microfabrication steps. Antenna efficiency is greatly improved after eliminating dielectric loss. This antenna is excited using an integrated vertical current probe connected with a coplanar-waveguide (CPW) by surface micromachining technologies. The lower part of the horn is constructed by rows of metallized pillars. The upper part and the top wall are built by stacking two layers of micromachined silicon wafers. The horn bottom is formed by metalizing the substrate´s top surface. A prototype antenna is designed, fabricated, and characterized. Simulation and measurement results have shown wide input matching bandwidth and radiation bandwidth. The measured radiation pattern agrees well with the simulated one, demonstrating a gain as high as 14.6 dBi.