Active transmitarray antenna with SiGe BiCMOS vector modulator MMICs for E-band

Beamsteerable antennas and antenna arrays are of interest for millimetre-wave applications such as 5G wireless communications. Phased arrays including active phase shifters can be integrated on multilayer PCBs together with antenna arrays. However, scalability of the phased arrays may become an issue due to feed network losses at higher frequencies such as E-band (60-90 GHz). In this paper, we present an active transmitarray antenna for E-band. The antenna consist of a feeding horn and a stack of phased array PCBs separated 75 mm apart from the horn. The multilayer PCBs include Rx antenna array, vector modulator MMICs, and Tx antenna array. The vector modulators ICs have digital control of amplitude and phase, thus enabling beamforming of the Tx antenna array. An active 8×8 transmitarray is demonstrated at 71-76 GHz frequency range. Radiation pattern testing has been done