Wideband and high-efficiency radiation from chip with artificial dielectric superstrates

We present an approach to realize wideband and low-loss antennas and antenna arrays on chip. The radiators are loaded with an artificial dielectric superstrate to improve the bandwidth and the overall efficiency. An example of design is proposed, consisting of an array of connected-dipole elements operating in a frequency band around 300 GHz. The antenna elements are located in the close proximity of a metal plane that functions as a shield from the lossy silicon substrate. Although the distance from the ground plane is only one fortieth of the wavelength, a bandwidth of 15% is achieved by loading the antenna with an artificial dielectric superstrate with high equivalent permittivity. The artificial dielectric does not support surface waves as a real dielectric, due to its anisotropic property. Consequently, remarkably high efficiency can be achieved with this radiation concept (>60% from simulation).