A D-band packaged antenna on low temperature co-fired ceramics for wire-bond connection with an indium phosphide power meter

A D-band packaged grid array antenna (GAA) on Ferro A6M low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC, ε_r = 5.74, tanδ = 0.0023 @ 145 GHz) is presented. It is designed for wire-bond connection with an indium phosphide (InP) power meter as a demonstration of a D-band packaged radio. Dimensions of the GAA (x, y, z) = (12, 12, 0.5) mm³. Simulated by Ansoft HFSS, the antenna´s impedance bandwidth is 139 - 149.3 GHz, maximum gain of 20.9 dBi @ 147.8 GHz with 3-dB gain bandwidth 139.5 - 150.8 GHz, vertical beams of 10° beamwidth in the broadside are detected 139 - 151 GHz on both E- and H-planes. The 25 um diameter co-planar bonding wires that bridge the InP chip and LTCC antenna substrate over a 250 um separation are studied, showing acceptable insertion loss and limited bandwidth.