Low Complexity 54–63-GHz Transmit/Receive 64- and 128-element 2-D-Scanning Phased-Arrays on Multilayer Organic Substrates With 64-QAM 30-Gbps Data Rates

This article presents 64- and 128-element transmit/receive phased-arrays built using SiGe 2 × 2 quad-chips flipped on a multilayer organic printed-circuit board (PCB). The arrays cover 54-63 GHz with 40-45-dBm effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) in the TX mode. The antenna elements are stacked microstrip antennas spaced at 0.5λ in the horizontal plane and 0.7λ in the vertical plane at 60 GHz, resulting in a scan range of ±50° in azimuth and ±15° in elevation. A 64-QAM 30-Gbps communication link is achieved in the transmit mode when using its full instantaneous bandwidth. This article shows that it is possible to build phased-arrays at 60 GHz and beyond using simple 2 × 2 quad-chips with low antenna distribution loss, and not using complex chips with 16-32 antenna connections and high distribution loss. Applications include high data-rate point-to-multipoint links, reconfigurable mesh networks, and automotive radars.