Aperture coupled stacked patch thin film antenna for automotive radar at 77 GHz

A hybrid thin film multilayer antenna for automotive radar is presented in this work. A 2 × 8 aperture coupled stacked patch antenna array is realized on a single layer printed circuit board (PCB) using a novel thin film-based approach. Using a compact 180 ° phase difference power divider, inter-element spacing in a 2×2 sub-array is reduced. Measurement results show a 19% (67.9–82.5 GHz) impedance bandwidth and a wideband broadside radiation pattern, with a maximum gain of 15.4 dBi realized gain at 72 GHz. The presented antenna compares favorably with other multilayer PCB antennas in terms of performance, with the advantage of simpler manufacturing and robust design. The antenna can be employed in mid-range automotive radar applications.