Micromachined patch antenna array design and optimization by using artificial neural network

Abstract

A 60-GHz 2 × 2 corporate-fed patch antenna array based on surface micromachined micro-coaxial technology is presented in this paper. The low loss micro-coaxial transmission line is designed to compose the feed network. To improve the bandwidth of the antenna element, a micro-coaxial twin-feed structure with two equal-amplitude and in-phase probes is designed to feed the patch. Artificial neural network (ANN) is applied for antenna element optimization. The 2 × 2 antenna array shows an impedance bandwidth of 6.5 GHz from 57.9 to 64.4 GHz under the condition of voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) less than 2. The gain of the array is 14.5 dBi at 60 GHz. The total area of the antenna array is 9.58 × 8 mm².