A Coaxial, 60-GHz, 15.3-dBi Slot Antenna Array

Short-range, high-data-rate wireless communication systems such as those outlined in IEEE 802.11ad have a requirement for antennas that can both support very wide bandwidths and at the same time deliver high-gain performance. Often, these would be considered mutually exclusive requirements, difficult to achieve within a single device. Shown here is a versatile, pluggable design that can be used as a high-gain standalone device or built in to array configurations to take advantage of increased gain or beam-steering capabilities. This slotted antenna array design operates over a frequency range between 57 and 64 GHz with a gain over this bandwidth varying from over 8.98 to 15.3 dBi. Using commercially available materials, this design draws on techniques developed for leaky feeder cable radiators to produce a versatile antenna array element.