| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/J50491/01 |
| Title: |
ADVANCED ACTIVE ANTENNAS FOR MILLIMETRE-WAVE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS |
| Principal Investigator: |
Robertson, Professor I |
| Other Investigators: |
|
| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
|
| Project Partners: |
|
| Department: |
Electronic Engineering |
| Organisation: |
Kings College London |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
28 March 1994 |
Ends: |
27 March 1997 |
Value (£): |
138,554
|
| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| RF & Microwave Technology |
|
|
| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
|
| Related Grants: |
|
| Panel History: |
|
|
Summary on Grant Application Form |
|
The purpose of the project is to investigate advanced techniques for realising on-chip radiating elements and for spatial power combining of monolithic devices. These techniques will be of particular importance for monolithic circuits operating in the 100s of GHz range, when this technology matures. These active antenna techniques lead to a high level of integration, and overcome the high losses of conventional power combiners, as well as the problems of interfacing to the chips. The most promising techniques are being investigated experimentally for on-chip receiving elements and for spatial power combining.Progress:The research has concentrated on:A) Novel single-fed multifrequency microstrip antenna.B) Active and passive antenna array designs for power combining at 2 GHz and 18 GHz.C) Passive and active antenna designs employing GaAs technology at 35-40 GHz. D) Passive and active antenna array designs at 60 GHz, along with a measurement system set up.Two novel dual-band patch antennas have been successfully developed. They use a spur-line band-stop filter on the opposite edge to the feed point to create a virtual cavity, allowing dual-frequency operation. A multilayer passive and active microstrip antenna array in a spatial power combining configuration have been successfully tested at 2 GHz. The design was modelled using TouchstoneTM and em by Sonnet Software. The active array uses a silicon bipolar MMIC underneath each patch. A passive and active 18 GHz circularly polarised multilayer active microstrip antenna subarray have also been successfully tested. The active elements are KuBand MMIC amplifiers that use the standard GEC-Marconi (Caswell) foundry F20 process. Circular polarisation is achieved by using single fed linearly polarised elements with a sequentially-rotated feeding configuration. TouchstoneTM as used to optimise the feed network, while em was used to simulate radiation patterns and circular polarisation purity. New types of antenna have been simulated and fabricated at 35-40 GHz on multilayer GaAs ICs with three metallisation levels, including single elements, dual-band antennas, and stacked patches. The construction of these prototypes has been carried out at Kings and measurements are currently in progress. A 60 GHz measurement system has been set up for transmission, reflection and radiation pattern measurements. A 60 GHz active antenna has been successfully demonstrated using a Gunn oscillator. 4x4 and 8x8 60 GHz passive microstrip antenna arrays have been designed and are being constructed. A waveguide-to-microstrip transition is being designed for this purpose.
|
|
Key Findings |
|
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
|
|
Potential use in non-academic contexts |
|
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
|
|
Impacts |
|
| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
|
| Date Materialised |
|
|
|
|
Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
|
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
|
| Project URL: |
|
| Further Information: |
|
| Organisation Website: |
|