Design of a dielectric flat lens antenna for 60 GHz WPAN applications

Abstract

In this paper we present the design of a dielectric flat lens antenna to operate in the 60 GHz band for WPAN applications. In order to overcome the specific atmospheric attenuation, which characterizes the propagation in the 60 GHz band, high directive antennas are required. Moreover, due to high user random mobility in indoor environments, beam-steerable antennas are also needed. For these reasons, we propose a design based on a dielectric flat lens antenna with scanning capabilities from -30° to +30° with around 20 dB of gain in the whole entire band of interest (57 to 66 GHz), and up to ±60° of beam-steering capabilities with around 15 dB of gain. The dielectric flat lens also leads to low-profile antenna configuration, easy to manufacture and low-cost, in order to integrate the design together with a commercial RF CMOS chip.