24 GHz on-chip antennas and balun on bulk Si for air transmission

The conditions are investigated under which standard digital bulk Si technology can yield efficient on-chip antennas and baluns for fully differential transmitter and receiver implementations. The effects of the IC material properties and the antenna geometry on radiation and impedance characteristics have been studied. 24 GHz on-chip antennas on lossy Si have been successfully demonstrated, using a standard IC fabrication compatible Cu process. The fabricated antennas demonstrate a gain ranging from - 8 to -10.5 dBi, which is to the best of the author's knowledge, the highest gain reported for antennas in a 10 Omega-cm Si substrate to date.