5.2 GHz Differential LTCC Antenna and Balun for Biomedical System in Package (SiP) Application

This paper presents the design of a differential integrated LTCC antenna and balun for biomedical system in package (SiP) application. A simple integrated LTCC balun design for testing 5.2 GHz differential antennas is described. Balun dimensions of 9.5 mm times 10 mm at 5.2 GHz are among the smallest reported so far. A rectangular loop antenna integrated with the balun displays good return loss and radiation pattern. It is shown that the antenna gain can be increased by 8.6 dB by employing an experimental ferrite LTCC tape as a superstrate to the regular LTCC substrate. Finally, a parametric study is performed which investigates the effects of ferrite superstrate material properties on the antenna gain. The antenna demonstrates in simulation, strong potential for integration into low power, low cost and short range wireless biomedical sensor systems.