60 GHz 3D integrated waveguide fed antennas using laser direct structuring technology

The following contribution presents the design of waveguide fed antennas that are directly integrable into injection molded plastic parts using 3D molded interconnect devices technology. The fabrication method used for 3D metallization of the plastic parts is Laser Direct Structuring (LDS). First a single dielectric filled waveguide fed horn antenna is developed, fabricated and characterized to verify the LDS process. The results show a good match between simulated and measured data proving the principle suitability of the LDS process. Based on this the approach of integrating this type of antenna directly into plastic parts is discussed. As an example a dielectric horn antenna is integrated into a generic plastic part and evaluated based on field simulations. The antenna is developed to operate in the frequency range of the WiFi IEEE 802.11ad standard.