Microfabricaion and measurement of a sub-millimeterwave beam-scanning antenna array at Y-band

This paper presents the concept, design and fabrication of beam-scanning array antenna operating at Y-band (230-245 GHz) for light-weight collision avoidance applications. The array consists of over 40 radiating sub-arrays, generating a very narrow beam of less than 3° in azimuth and about 10° in elevation with ±25° azimuth steering capability. Slot-coupled cavity-backed patch arrays are used as the radiating elements of the main antenna in order to confine the beam of the antenna in the elevation plane. Silicon micromaching technology is used to microfabricate the prototype of the antenna. To characterize the micromachined antenna, a waveguide-probe near-field measurement setup is utilized. In the approach an open-ended waveguide probe is used along with on-wafer waveguide transitions to effectively feed the antenna. Measurement results are in excellent agreement with the full-wave simulation results of the antenna.