Opportunities, Progress and Challenges in Active Heatsink Antenna Arrays for 5G and Beyond

Abstract

The conventional air and liquid cooling based thermal management strategies in mm-wave active phased arrays are illustrated with several examples from the literature. The key role of antenna engineers in electronics thermal management is discussed. The intriguing concept of using the antennas as auxiliary heat dissipators is recapitulated with a focus on the past and recent developments. The multiphysics (electromagnetic and thermal) modeling and design approaches of such dual function antennas are outlined. Some of the future multidisciplinary research challenges in heatsink antennas are identified.

A Novel Heatsink Attached mm-Wave Active Patch Antenna With Adjustable Frequency and Cooling

“…This results in impractical, bulky and energy-inefficient products [5], [6]. The emerging concept of heatsink antenna, which utilizes the antenna itself as a heat dissipator on the opposite side of the board, is promising to alleviate such issues by providing additional cooling paths [7].…”

From Cooling to Coupling and Back: A Novel Beam- Switching Heatsink Antenna Array With CSRR Embedded Isolation Wall

“…In such an approach, the cooling capability becomes limited by the effective height of the heatsink [6]. Dual-functional antennas that contribute to chip cooling while addressing the antenna pattern shape and port isolation requirements can improve the thermal management capacity and relax the requirements on the external heatsinks [7].…”