A microstrip-coupled slot-loop antenna for integrated receivers in the millimeter-wave band

Abstract

A square-loop slot antenna, printed at the back surface of an extended hemispherical lens, is examined as a candidate for millimeter-wa¨e mm-wa ( ) ¨e integrated-circuit Schottky-diode mixers. The loop slot is etched in a microwa¨e substrate, and coupled to a microstrip line section printed on the other side of the substrate. A Schottky barrier diode shunted to ground is the mixing de¨ice. The input impedance of the antenna has been optimized to conjugate match the Schottky diode. To design and optimize the antenna, an efficient full-wa¨e method of moments MoM technique, which sol ( ) ¨es the mixed potential integral equation MPIE in the stratified medium, has been de ( ) ¨eloped. Patterns ha¨e been computed using the physical optics approximation and diffraction theory. The proposed configuration shows ¨ery wideband performance. Simulation results compare well with measurements. The proposed configuration is suitable to be scaled down for operation in the submillimeter-wa¨e submm-wa ( ) ¨e band.