A Compact 60-GHz Tapered Slot Antenna Printed on LCP Substrate for WPAN Applications

We describe a compact endfire 60-GHz tapered slot antenna (TSA), which is printed on a low-permittivity liquid crystal polymer (LCP) substrate. The antenna features a novel wideband collinear microstrip-to-slot transition, which is of smaller size compared to other transitions. This antenna can be integrated with a RF module for use in future wireless personal area network (WPAN) applications. Such an antenna can be used both as an individual radiator as well as an element of antenna array. The antenna also features a fork-shaped metallic carrier, which gives it good rigidity. In addition, the antenna features a metallic reflector, which increases its directive gain. Numerical simulations show that the operating frequency band of the antenna is from 53.3 to 69.6 GHz (greater than 25% bandwidth) and that the directive gain of the antenna within its operating frequency range 57-66 GHz is between 6.8 and 9.9 dB.