On-wafer measurement setups for on-chip antennas fabricated on silicon substrates

The paper presents the measurement setups of on-chip antennas for short range communications over free space (μNode applications). To evaluate the on-chip antenna characteristics in realistic indoor and outdoor operating environments, two mobile microwave probe stands have been constructed using Delrin (a type of plastic, ε_r ∼3.7). Each stand is equipped with a probe holder and a cable connection to a test instrument. The stands can be connected to a network analyzer for 1-port or 2-port S-parameter measurements. By connecting a spectrum analyzer and a signal generator to these mobile probe stands, power gains between a pair of antennas as a function of separation can be measured. Simulation and measurement results suggest that the effects of probe stands on antenna characteristics are small.