3-D glass integrated stacked patch antenna array for silicon active package system

Silicon-based packaging is highly suitable for miniaturised and cost-effective integrated systems. However, traditional silicon-based antenna-in-package (AiP) has disadvantages, such as high loss, low efficiency and narrow bandwidth. A glass-silicon active package system architecture is proposed. Its active part is integrated on a silicon substrate, while the antenna array in the package system is made of glass, which has high radiation efficiency. The proposed antenna structure is an H-type aperture-coupled microstrip patch antenna. The authors use a ball grid array to form cavity and two shielding structures to improve the scanning performance of the array. Furthermore, by adding grounding points, the resonance singularity within the shielding structure is eliminated. A test array, composed of 8 × 8 elements was fabricated for the purpose of validating the design. It can achieve wide-angle scanning greater than ±60° and bandwidth of 29%. This design can be applied for ka-band communications and radar systems.