Analysis and Characterization of a High-Performance Ka-Band Surface Micromachined Elevated Patch Antenna

A novel Ka-band surface micromachined air-elevated patch antenna is designed, fabricated, and characterized. It demonstrates a 10.5%¿10-dB fractional bandwidth and 9.5-dBi directivity for an elevation of 600 $mu m$. The elevated patch is fed by a vertical epoxy-core metal-coated micromachined probe and supported by several epoxy posts underneath. By the unique feeding technique and the substrate removal approach that are presented in this letter, the performance degradation for traditional microstrip antenna directly built on high- $varepsilon_r$ substrate can be significantly alleviated.