Novel linearly and circularly polarized 60 GHz MEMS antennas on low- and high-resistivity silicon

Two novel MEMS antennas for 60 GHz applications are introduced in this paper. The first antenna is radiating linearly polarized wave, while circularly polarized wave can be radiated from the second antenna. Both antennas possess good isolation from the driving circuit via the presence of ground metal plane. The fabrication process requires only one silicon wafer with no need for wafer bonding or hybrid integration. The two antennas are radiating mainly from one side of the substrate, as indicated by high front-to-back ratio. They enjoy good polarization purity characterized by low cross-polarization level. Both high- and low-resistivity silicon are considered as substrates for each antenna. The first solution is associated with very high radiation efficiency and gain, and hence suitable for applications requires considerable distance between transmitter and receiver. On the other hand, the much cheaper and more electronics-compatible low-resistivity silicon solution offers relatively low radiation efficiency and gain, which makes it more suitable for in-door communication systems.