High-isolation antenna array using SIW and realized with a graphene layer for sub-terahertz wireless applications.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Antenna Theory

Background:

• Sub-terahertz (sub-THz) integrated circuits require high-performance antenna arrays to compensate for limited source power.
• Mutual coupling in small-sized antenna arrays degrades radiation properties, hindering performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an effective technique for improving antenna array performance characteristics for sub-THz integrated circuit applications.
• To mitigate the adverse effects of mutual coupling and surface wave propagation in antenna arrays.

Main Methods:

• Utilized substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) technology to suppress surface waves and mutual coupling.
• Designed and constructed 2x3 antenna arrays on a 125 μm polyimide substrate for 0.19-0.20 THz operation.
• Incorporated metamaterial characteristics by embedding sub-wavelength slots into patch antennas.

Main Results:

• Achieved an average isolation improvement of 22.5 dB using SIW compared to a reference array.
• The metamaterial-inspired array demonstrated an average improvement of 28 dB in isolation, 6.3 dBi in radiation gain, and 34% in efficiency.
• Graphene metallization (500 nm) was applied to the antenna array.

Conclusions:

• The proposed SIW and metamaterial-inspired technique effectively enhances antenna array performance for sub-THz applications.
• This approach addresses critical challenges in miniaturized antenna design for integrated circuits.
• Demonstrated the viability of the technique for developing advanced sub-THz antenna arrays.