Small Footprint Multilayered Millimeter-Wave Antennas and Feeding Networks for Multi-Dimensional Scanning and High-Density Integrated Systems

This paper overviews the state-of-the-art of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) techniques in the design and realization of innovative low-cost, low-profile and low-loss (L3) millimeter-wave antenna elements, feeding networks and arrays for various wireless applications. Novel classes of multilayered antenna structures and systems are proposed and studied to exploit the vertical dimension of planar structures to overcome certain limitations in standard two-dimensional (2-D) topologies. The developed structures are based on two techniques, namely multi-layer stacked structures and E-plane corners. Different E-plane structures realized with SIW waveguide are presented, thereby demonstrating the potential of the proposed techniques as in multi-polarization antenna feeding. An array of 128 elements shows low SLL and height gain with just 200 g of the total weight. Two versions of 2-D scanning multi-beam are presented, which effectively combine frequency scanning with beam forming networks. Adding the benefits of wide band performance to the multilayer structure, two bi-layer structures are investigated. Different stacked antennas and arrays are demonstrated to optimize the targeted antenna performances in the smallest footprint possible. These structures meet the requirement for developing inexpensive compact millimeter-wave antennas and antenna systems. Different structures and architectures are theoretically and experimentally studied and discussed for specific spaceand ground-based applications. Practical issues such as high-density integration and high-volume manufacturability are also addressed.