Patch antennas utilizing semi-insulating SiC for monolithic integration of the antenna subsystem on a SiC chip

Abstract

ABSTRACTSemi-insulating (SI) silicon carbide (SiC) was evaluated as a candidate material for dielectric substrate for patch antennas suitable for monolithic antenna integration on a SiC semiconductor chip. Computer simulations of the return loss were conducted to design microstrip patch antennas operating at 10 GHz. The antennas were fabricated using SI 4H-SiC substrates, with Ti-Pt-Au stacks for ground planes and patches. A good agreement between the experimental results and simulation was obtained. The radiation performance of the designed SiC based patch antennas was as good as that normally achieved from antennas fabricated using conventional RF materials such as FR4 and Rogers. The antennas had the gain around 2 dBi at 10 GHz, which is consistent with the conventional antennas of a similar size.