Antenna-on-Chip: Design, Challenges, and Opportunities with Hammad M. Cheema, Fatima Khalid, and Atif Shamim

Find a deeper understanding of cutting-edge technology in exciting new book

Antennas, the ubiquitous components enabling all wireless communication systems have predominantly been seen as components that are outside the chipsets connected either through printed-circuit boards or external connectors. However, the continuous push towards higher frequencies and the unprecedented advancements in semiconductor technology in the last decade has made it possible to implement antennas on-the-chip making the vision of having truly integrated SoCs possible.

Versatile and through introduction for all leves

The objective of this book is to introduce the design, challenges and solutions associated with Antenna-on-Chip technology. It is written for academics and researchers, on both side of the conventional divide of circuits and antennas, who are now gearing to design and integrate radiating structures on silicon substrates. The book is also intended to serve as a guideline for designers, for applying the stated concepts in on-chip antenna design for a range of real-life applications.

Complete overview of integrated circuits

The book commences with an overview of integrated circuits integration technologies followed by a comprehensive coverage of key challenges faced in the integration of antennas on-the-chip. The current solutions for these challenges are then presented where the key focus is on co-design strategies of circuits and antennas. A hands-on end-to-end example of AoC design is also included for new researchers in the field. The book aptly concludes with insights on the future trends, providing readers possible avenues of research in this domain.

Explore the newest trends in antenna design

The book is about a new domain of antenna design called Antenna-on-Chip (AoC). Today, most of the world’s gadgets are controlled by billions of chips or integrated circuits (ICs). Antennas on the other hand are often viewed as large external devices designed separately. In this book, the idea of putting the antenna on those tiny chips is explored. When present on a single chip, the antenna and circuits will be directly connected leading to a dramatic reduction in losses, size and system cost. However, designing the antenna to fit in with on-chip circuits and radiate efficiently is clearly a challenge. Antennas designed on chips often show low radiation efficiencies and the presence of other circuit components further degrade its performance. Moreover, the extremely small size of AoCs makes it difficult to measure their performance using conventional testing methods. Packaging of chips which contain antennas also requires specialized design and consideration. This book explores in great detail the issues in designing robust AoCs and solutions proposed to resolve them.

Step-by-step explanation of AoC

Antenna-on-Chip is a relatively new technology, therefore, the required simulation and measurement methods are still in development stages. In the book, the authors have included a detailed design example that takes the reader through each step in the simulation, fabrication and measurement of an actual on-chip antenna. Finally, the book covers the applications and recent trends in AoC research and the areas in which work is still required to make AoC technology the ideal integration solution.

What are problems your book can help technical professionals solve:

  • To become aware of issues encountered in on-chip antenna design.
  • Learn methods to improve on-chip antenna performance.
  • To learn and implement co-design strategies that can help in achieving an efficient antenna-IC layout with minimum design errors.
  • To learn best practices in utilizing software tools for antenna-IC simulations and AoC measurements.
  • To learn the key research gaps where novel contributions in AoC design are required.

What are the features and benefits of your book?

  • Feature: A step-by-step example of on-chip antenna design
  • Benefit: Will allow beginners in the field of AoC to learn the systematic design process and educe the learning curve for antenna & IC designers
  • Feature: Detailed review of on-chip antenna challenges and commonly used solutions.
  • Benefit: Serve as a starting point for AoC design and give reader many design techniques to choose from.

Who are your expected audiences and how will they use your book?

  • Graduate / Research students will use the book as a handbook or guideline for AoC design as it provides the basic theory and concept as well as design examples.
  • Design Engineers in semiconductor design companies will use the book as a guideline for AoC related tasks.
  • Senior Managers & Designers will find the book useful to become well versed with this relatively new technology.
  • University faculty members will use the book as a reference book to include on-chip antenna design content in their courses.

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