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Reconfigurable Beamforming Silicon Plasma Antenna with Vertical PIN Diode Array
Author(s) -
Hur Jae,
Nam InJoong,
Cho YoungKyun,
Kim DaJin,
Jo EonSeok,
Lee Seokmin,
Kim ChoongKi,
Lee GeonBeom,
Kim Cheol Ho,
Hyun Seok Bong,
Kim Dongho,
Choi YangKyu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced electronic materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.25
H-Index - 56
ISSN - 2199-160X
DOI - 10.1002/aelm.202000257
Subject(s) - materials science , reconfigurable antenna , microfabrication , optoelectronics , antenna (radio) , pin diode , silicon , smart antenna , omnidirectional antenna , semiconductor device fabrication , radiation pattern , beamforming , diode , electrical engineering , electronic engineering , fabrication , antenna efficiency , engineering , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , wafer
For the first time, this study demonstrates a reconfigurable antenna with electrical beamforming that is entirely integrated by semiconductor microfabrication technology. In this paper, a vertical structured array of solid‐state plasma which acts as a reconfigurable conducting wall to control the main beam direction of an antenna is proposed. In many conventional works, insufficient electrical conductivity of turned‐on plasma channels at the planar surface of PIN diodes causes an inherent large loss and low radiation efficiency of silicon‐based antennas. However, in this study, the overall performance of the antenna is notably enhanced by adopting the vertical plasma channels which solve the lower electrical conductivity problem of the surface‐type plasma structure. Accordingly, the proposed antenna achieves a high realized gain of more than 5 dBi over a frequency range of 27.5–29.6 GHz, even though it is comprised of lossy silicon with high permittivity. In addition, the low cost and electrically reconfigurable antenna, which benefits from the highly precise semiconductor fabrication process, is applicable to sub‐THz applications with a lightweight and compact sized feature. This work paves the way to make silicon antennas with commercial microfabrication technology a next‐generation antenna.