Design of 76-80 GHz on-chip Dipole Antenna for mmWave Radar Applications

Abstract

In this paper, a 76-80 GHz dipole antenna is designed and parametrically analyzed. The dipole structure is designed on the standard IHP SG13G2 130 nm BI-CMOS process substrate. To enhance the gain and efficiency of the antenna structure, selective micromachining of the silicon substrate around the antenna has been implemented which can be realized using Localized Back Etching (LBE) offered by the IHP SG13G2 Process. Selective etching of Silicon reduces the power loss in surface waves. It alters the effective permittivity of the substrate seen by the antenna which in turn enhances the gain and efficiency. The proposed design has achieved a gain of 4 dBi and 52% efficiency with a bandwidth of more than 4 GHz (76 - 81.2GHz). Which covers most of the spectrum of the automotive short-range and long-range radars.