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Asfour R, Khamas SK, Ball EA, Ng JS, Huang G, Allanic R, Le Berre D, Quendo C, Leuliet A, Merlet T. On-Chip Circularly Polarized Circular Loop Antennas Utilizing 4H-SiC and GaAs Substrates in the Q/V Band. Sensors (Basel) 2024; 24:321. [PMID: 38257414 PMCID: PMC10821018 DOI: 10.3390/s24020321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the performance of on-chip circularly polarized (CP) circular loop antennas that have been designed and fabricated to operate in the Q/V frequency band. The proposed antenna design incorporates two concentric loops, with the outer loop as the active element and the inner loop enhancing the CP bandwidth. The study utilizes gallium arsenide (GaAs) and silicon carbide (4H-SiC) semiconductor wafer substrates. The measured results highlight the successful achievement of impedance matching at 40 GHz and 44 GHz for the 4H-SiC and GaAs substrates, respectively. Furthermore, both cases yield an axial ratio (AR) of less than 3 dB, with variations in bandwidths and frequency bands contingent upon the dielectric constant of the respective substrate material. Moreover, the outcomes confirm that utilizing 4H-SiC substrates results in a significantly higher radiation efficiency of 95%, owing to lower substrate losses. In pursuit of these findings, a 4-element circularly polarized loop array antenna has been fabricated for operation at 40 GHz, employing a 4H-SiC wafer as a low-loss substrate. The results underscore the antenna's remarkable performance, exemplified by a broadside gain of approximately 9.7 dBic and a total efficiency of circa 92%. A close agreement has been achieved between simulated and measured results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rawad Asfour
- Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK; (S.K.K.); (E.A.B.); (G.H.)
| | - Salam K. Khamas
- Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK; (S.K.K.); (E.A.B.); (G.H.)
| | - Edward A. Ball
- Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK; (S.K.K.); (E.A.B.); (G.H.)
| | - Jo Shien Ng
- Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK; (S.K.K.); (E.A.B.); (G.H.)
| | - Guanwei Huang
- Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK; (S.K.K.); (E.A.B.); (G.H.)
| | - Rozenn Allanic
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l’Information de la Communication et de la Connaissance (Lab-STICC), University of Brest, 29238 Brest, France; (R.A.); (D.L.B.); (C.Q.)
| | - Denis Le Berre
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l’Information de la Communication et de la Connaissance (Lab-STICC), University of Brest, 29238 Brest, France; (R.A.); (D.L.B.); (C.Q.)
| | - Cédric Quendo
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l’Information de la Communication et de la Connaissance (Lab-STICC), University of Brest, 29238 Brest, France; (R.A.); (D.L.B.); (C.Q.)
| | - Aude Leuliet
- Thales LAS OME, 78990 Elancourt, France; (A.L.); (T.M.)
| | - Thomas Merlet
- Thales LAS OME, 78990 Elancourt, France; (A.L.); (T.M.)
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