We studied the viability of the embedded wafer level ball grid array (eWLB) package environment as an antenna platform for 77 GHz automotive radar sensors and the effects of package fabrication tolerances on the antenna performance. The investigation of different antenna concepts in the eWLB package and their characterization methods are addressed. The design procedures for electrically large, differentially fed loop antennas in a multilayer package structure are introduced. Two different planar antennas are developed and measured in an eWLB package showing promising results such as a gain of 9 GHz and an impedance bandwidth of 8 GHz. An acceptable antenna performance is recorded within the tolerance limits. Therefore, the eWLB package is seen as an appropriate platform for mm-wave antennas and as a good candidate for an antenna-in-package (AiP) concept.

This paper presents a frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar operating at 120 GHz, which features silicon–germanium (SiGe) chips that employ HBTs with 320 GHz fmax. The chipset comprises a fundamental-wave signal-generation chip with a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) that provides frequencies between 114 and 130 GHz and a corresponding dual–transceiver (TRX) chip that supports monostatic and quasi-monostatic radar configurations. The cascode amplifiers used in the TRX chip were characterized in separate test chips and yielded peak small-signal gains of approximately 15 dB. Finally, a quasi-monostatic two-channel FMCW radar frontend with on-board differential microstrip antennas was built on an RF substrate. FMCW radar measurements with frequency chirps from 116 to 123 GHz verified the functionality of the designed radar sensor.