Design, simulation, and fabrication of on-chip conical spiral antennas for millimeter-wave wireless communications

Design and fabrication of spiral bi-metal structures appropriate for the realization of miniaturized out-of-plane on-chip antennas is reported. The fabricated antenna whose feeding waveguide is of CPW type can be employed in millimeter-wave antenna arrays. The spiral shape of the structure lends itself for free suspension through the inherent structural stress, assisted by thermal activation. Numerical simulations of the fabricated antenna indicate wide bandwidth, high return loss, and nearly omni-directional pattern at millimeter-wave frequencies.