A novel fully-automatic 3D radiation pattern measurement setup for 60 GHz probe-fed antennas

In this paper, we present a fully automatic radiation pattern measurement setup for 60 GHz probe-fed antennas. First, a detailed description of the mechanical and the RF parts of the set-up is provided with a special focus of a dedicated calibration procedure. Then, the 3D radiation pattern measurements of several antennas are presented to validate the calibration procedure and demonstrate the accuracy of the setup. The first measurement of a low-directivity monopole antenna etched on a glass substrate illustrates the usefulness of measuring probe-fed antennas instead of connector-fed antennas at 60 GHz. The second measurement of several moderate and high directivity Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) patch-type antennas demonstrates the possibility to accurately measure the radiation of flip-chip mounted structures. The last example describes the radiation pattern measurement of a folded-loop antenna etched on a High-Resistivity (HR) Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) substrate. These last technologies represent major solutions for the market of millimeter-wave antennas for W-HDMI-type communications that's why guidelines and advices are given to handle such difficult measurement with acceptable accuracy.