A sub-millimeterwave micromachined frequency beam-steering antenna array

This paper describes a novel travelling-wave frequency beam-scanning array antenna operating at Y-band. The proposed antenna is composed of over 40 cavity-backed patch arrays as the radiating elements, with a total of 588 patch elements. The array generates a very narrow beam (HPBW of less than 2.5°) at the broadside of the antenna with ±25° steering capability. A prototype of the proposed antenna is fabricated using silicon micromachining with high level of accuracy and low mass and cost. To characterize the micromachined antenna, a novel waveguide-probe near-field measurement setup is proposed and good agreement between the measurement and the full-wave simulation results of the antenna is shown.