Optically driven CPW fed slot antennas and arrays for wireless communications

This paper presents a comparison of three different types of CPW fed slot antennas integrated with a photodetector. The antennas are driven by optical power converted into microwave power using the photodetector which is directly attached to the antennas without the use of any amplifying devices. The operating frequency of these antennas is around 18.5 GHz. This paper presents the approach for matching a photodetector to a single element or to an array of elements. Measured data and simulations for various antenna/photodetector configurations are compared and discussed.