Bonding Wire Loop Antenna in Standard Ball Grid Array Package for 60-GHz Short-Range Wireless Communication

High-speed short-range wireless communication systems are expected to utilize the 60-GHz band. This paper presents a bonding wire loop antenna in a standard ball grid array (BGA) package for 60-GHz short-range wireless communication. The proposed antenna has a loop shape and consists of two bonding wires connecting to a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip and a metal plate on an interposer in a BGA package. The antenna can be fabricated at low cost by a conventional BGA package fabrication process. The BGA package is mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) that consists of resin substrate, such as FR-4. The broadband impedance characteristic is achieved by adjusting the position of the metal pad for wire bonding. The antenna gain is improved by forming cranked ledges and notches in the metal patterns of the PCB, and the wide-angle radiation characteristic is realized. The sizes of the fabricated antenna and BGA package are approximately 0.6 mm × 1.0 mm × 0.3 mm and 9.0 mm × 9.0 mm × 0.9 mm, respectively. Performing measurements, the antenna gain with the PCB is from - 2.4 to 4.9 dBi over the 57- to 65-GHz frequency range and over an angular range of 60
^°
in the horizontal plane.