An extended-hemispherical silicon lens backed 100GHz focal plane array with beam-tilted pixels

An extended-hemispherical silicon lens backed 1D 100GHz focal plane array (FPA) consisting of beam-tilted pixel elements is presented. The center elements of the FPA are formed from conventional broadside radiators, whereas the end-elements are gradually replaced by beam-tilted antenna layouts in order to enhance the received power from off-axis directions. This paper specifically presents the design of a pixel capable of a 40° tilted receiving pattern within the diffraction limited pixel area (880μm × 880μm). The pixel consists of a three element phased array of electrically small coplanar-waveguide (CPW) fed slot antennas (each 425μm long and 110μm wide) loaded with composite right/left-handed (CRLH) transmission line (TL) unit cells. The performance of the proposed FPA behind the extended-hemispherical lens and experimental verifications are underway and will be presented at the time of the conference.