Antenna arrays integrated into an electromagnetic transparent metallic surface

A structure comprising:

• a surface-cell patch antenna having a surface that is exposed along a generally planar region proximate to an outer surface of a housing, the housing having a substrate formed from a dielectric material of a thickness, and the surface-cell patch antenna formed into the housing;
• a vertical-polarization signal feed post, the vertical-polarization signal feed post electrically coupled to the surface-cell patch antenna and passing through the dielectric material to an inner surface of the housing, the inner surface of the housing opposite the outer surface of the housing and generally parallel to the outer surface of the housing;
• a horizontal-polarization signal feed post, the horizontal-polarization signal feed post electrically coupled to the surface-cell patch antenna and passing through the dielectric material to the inner surface of the housing;
• a transceiver module, the transceiver module electrically coupled to a modem by a connector and comprising:
• a transceiver device, the transceiver device capable of transmitting and receiving millimeter (mm)-wave signals;
• and
• a flexible printed circuit board that is affixed to the inner surface of the housing, the flexible printed circuit board including:
• a trace that electrically couples the vertical-polarization signal feed post to a vertical-polarization signal output of the transceiver device, the vertical-polarization signal output including a pad for a flip chip interconnect, a stub bump interconnect, a wire bonding interconnect, or a lead terminal of a package component;
• and
• another trace that electrically couples the horizontal-polarization signal feed post to a horizontal-polarization signal output of the transceiver device, the horizontal-polarization signal output including a pad for a flip chip interconnect, a stub bump interconnect, a wire bonding interconnect, or a lead terminal of a package component.

A method performed by a user equipment, the method comprising:

• receiving a millimeter (mm)-wave signal through a surface-cell patch antenna, the surface-cell patch antenna formed into a housing of the user equipment and exposed along an outer surface of the housing of the user equipment;
• propagating the mm-wave signal to a transceiver device via a horizontal-polarization signal feed post and a vertical-polarization signal feed post that passes through the housing and electrically couples to a trace of a flexible printed circuit board (PCB), the PCB disposed proximate an inner surface of the housing that is opposite the outer surface and generally parallel to the outer surface;
• propagating the mm-wave signal to a modem that is part of the user equipment, the signal propagated via a connector that electrically couples the flexible PCB to the modem;
• demodulating the mm-wave signal via the modem;
• and
• performing an operation, the operation performed by a processor of the user equipment based on the demodulated signal.