Mm-Wave Low-Profile Wideband Antenna Array Using Low-temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) Technique

A low-profile wideband and high gain patch antenna array using low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) fabrication technique is proposed for 60-GHz applications. Coupled feeding scheme is adopted so that the antenna achieves wide impedance bandwidth that covers the entire 60-GHz license-free band with the height of only 0.384 mm (four tape layers). The shorting pin connecting the upper patch and ground imitates the virtual ac ground plane of differential feeding. This enables the antenna element to achieve good radiation performances including stable gain, symmetrical beam with low cross-polarization, which are comparable to those of the differential-driven patch antenna while the complex differential feeding network is not required. Antenna array prototype is fabricated and measured to verify the idea.