Design and Analysis of a 170 GHz Antenna for Millimeter-wave Applications

Microstrip patch antennas are low-profile and robust when mounted on rigid surfaces of the devices making them suitable for communication and millimeter-wave applications. In this paper, an antenna is designed for the resonant frequency of 170 GHz using microstrip technology concerning its miniaturization and cost-effectiveness. The designed antenna is a part of a stray radiation detection system for ECE diagnostic to be installed on fusion research machine ITER. It offers low-directivity to receive radiation from all directions, high bandwidth, low side-lobe-level and return loss of -50 dB, leading to its remarkable utilization in the detection system being designed to protect millimeter wave components of ITER ECE Diagnostic. Power-handling and power-capturing capability of the designed antenna have also been discussed in the paper. Far-field simulations have been performed using CST Microwave Studio software to study the radiation characteristics of the designed antenna.