External millimeter-wave antenna using spatial coupling for antenna in IC package

High-speed short-range wireless communication systems utilizing the 60-GHz band are desired. One candidate for the antenna is Antenna-in-package (AiP) due to its high radiation efficiency compared with Antenna-on-Chip (AoC). The communication distance of AiP is several centimeters. In order to use the same IC package for communication over a distance of several meters, we propose an external millimeter-wave antenna using spatial coupling for AiP. The measured antenna gain of the proposed antenna is increased to 15.4 dBi from -0.6 dBi of AiP at 60.58 GHz without redesigning the IC package. The metal housing shielding the mounting printed circuit board (PCB) reduces the backward radiation while suppressing the effect on the forward radiation.