Abstract
Dramatic improvements in the radiation properties of tapered slot antennas (TSA) integrated on high dielectric constant substrates have been achieved through micromachining techniques. A periodic hole structure was micromachined into the substrate converting it into a photonic bandgap material. The measured directivity of a 4/spl lambda//sub 0/ TSA on a 50 mil (1.27 mm) thick Duroid substrate (/spl epsiv//sub r/=10.5) was increased by 240% using micromachined holes with a hexagonal geometry. A similar improvement was observed when the process was performed at 30 GHz on a 14 mil (350 /spl mu/m) silicon wafer. We believe the technology can be scaled to 60 GHz and 94 GHz for communication systems, low-cost millimeter wave imaging arrays, and power combining systems.

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