Small size 60 GHz CMOS Antenna-on-Chip: Gain and efficiency enhancement using asymmetric Artificial Magnetic Conductor

This paper presents a small size 60 GHz Antenna-on-Chip (AoC) designed and fabricated using 0.18 um TSMC Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) process. AoC performance is enhanced using asymmetric Artificial Magnetic Conductor (AMC). The AoC area including the AMC is 1715 um by 710 um. As AMC shields AoC from the lossy CMOS substrate, simulated gain of -0.25 dBi is achieved at 60 GHz for design rule compatible circular AoC with 12.8 dB front-to-back ratio (FBR) due to removal of AMC cells below the AoC. Measurements agree well with simulation results and confirm operation at the 60 GHz band with a peak measured gain of -3 dBi at 64 GHz.