Surface-micromachined millimeter-wave antennas

This paper reports various three-dimensional (3-D) surface micromachining technologies and their successful application to a variety of millimeter-wave antennas. Contrary to conventional planar type printed-circuit antenna structures, the 3-D surface micromachined structures described here minimize substrate effects, enabling substrate independence, high electrical performance, and broad bandwidth. The key technologies exploited include epoxy-core conductor technology, magnetic assembly, and electroplating bonding technology. Four millimeter-wave vehicles illustrate the technology: a monopole-driven Yagi-Uda (M-Yagi) antenna; an air-lifted patch antenna; an air-lifted coupler; and an air-lifted monopole antenna.