Design and Fabrication of a High-Gain 60-GHz Cavity-Backed Slot Antenna Array Fed by Inverted Microstrip Gap Waveguide

This communication deals with the design of a 16 × 16 slot array antenna fed by inverted microstrip gap waveguide (IMGW). The whole structure designed in this communication consists of radiating slots, a groove gap cavity layer, a distribution feeding network, and a transition from standard WR-15 waveguide to the IMGW. First, a 2 × 2 cavity-backed slot subarray is designed with periodic boundary condition to achieve good performances of radiation pattern and directivity. Then, a complete IMGW feeding network with a transition from WR-15 rectangular waveguide to the IMGW has been realized to excite the radiating slots. The complete antenna array is designed at 60-GHz frequency band and fabricated using Electrical Discharging Machining Technology. The measurements show that the antenna has a 16.95% bandwidth covering 54-64-GHz frequency range. The measured gain of the antenna is more than 28 dBi with the efficiency higher than 40% covering 54-64-GHz frequency range.