RF and Microwave Microelectronics Packaging

294 Pages·2010·7.787 MB·English

by  Rick Sturdivant (auth.), Ken Kuang, Franklin Kim, Sean S. Cahill (eds.)

RF and Microwave Microelectronics Packaging
· ·
Ken Kuang Franklin Kim Sean S. Cahill
Editors
RF and Microwave
Microelectronics Packaging
123
Editors
KenKuang FranklinKim
TorreyHillsTechnologies,LLC KyoceraAmerica,Inc.
6370LuskBlvd,F-111 8611BalboaAvenue
SanDiegoCA92123
SanDiegoCA92121
USA
USA
[email protected]
[email protected]
SeanS.Cahill
BridgeWaveCommunicationsInc.
3350ThomasRoad
SantaClaraCA95054
USA
[email protected]
ISBN978-1-4419-0983-1 e-ISBN978-1-4419-0984-8
DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-0984-8
SpringerNewYorkDordrechtHeidelbergLondon
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Preface
This book is an outgrowth of the first IMAPS (International Microelectronics and
PackagingSociety)AdvancedTechnologyWorkshoponRF/MicrowavePackaging,
heldSeptember16–18,2008inSanDiego,California.Wirelesstechnologieshave
undergone tremendous growth in the last decade and the interest in packaging
for high-frequency applications has grown as well. Over 30 invited speakers gave
presentations on select advanced topics in RF, microwave, millimeter-wave and
broadbandpackaging.
Themotivationbehindthisconference,however,goesbeyondtheobviousareas
ofutility.Whenreferringtofundamentalengineeringlimitstoveryhighspeedelec-
tronics,packagingandinterconnectconstraintsfiguresignificantly.Everincreasing
dataratesaretransformingdigitaltechnologiesintowhatareessentiallyRFsystems.
TheoncearcanetoolsoftheRFdisciplinearebecomingincreasinglyapplicableto
electronic systems in general, motivating many new considerations. RF systems,
despitetheirsmalldevicecount,havetraditionallybeenvoracious,inefficientcon-
sumers of power, creating significant challenges for packaging engineers to deal
withheatdissipation.Mostdigitaldeviceshavebeenmuchmorefrugal,butspeed
andhighlevelsofintegrationturnthesedevicesintosignificantheatsourcesaswell.
Inlightoftheseevolutionarytrends,asamplingoftheworkshopparticipantswere
askedtosubmitchaptersonthesefascinatingareasofdevelopmentfortheworkat
hand.
Given the diversity of voices at this workshop, and the highly interdisciplinary
natureofthetopicsdiscussed,thisworkrangesbroadly.Authorsincludeacademics,
students, large industrial concerns and small entrepreneurial ventures covering a
variety of areas such as performance fundamentals, design considerations, novel
structures,manufacturingmethods,andadvancedmaterials.Althoughsomeofthe
information included here may be of particular use to those studied in a specific
discipline,anefforthasbeenmadetoconveylargeportionsoftheinformationina
wayaccessibletoanaudiencewithgeneralknowledgeofelectronicpackaging.
Chapter 1 introduces the topic with a look at the fundamentals underlying
design and performance trade-offs and the additional complexities encountered
at microwave and millimeter wave frequencies. In these regimes, even simple
interconnectslikewirebondsmustbeconsideredascomplexcircuitelements.
v
vi Preface
Chapter 2 introduces a new interconnect approach that allows low-cost high-
volume packaging philosophies to be translated into the high-frequency domain.
Thisdevelopmentwillhaveimplicationsfordigitalelectronicpackagingaswell.
Chapter 3 shows a possible path for making millimeter wave passive compo-
nents with a high-volume production approach. This innovation may enable much
morepervasivepenetrationofmillimeterwavesystemsintoconsumerandothercost
sensitiveapplications.
Chapter 4 gives some pointers on how low cost is achieved through chip-on-
boardintegrationandpackagingformillimeterwaveelectronicsandthendiscusses
theparticularproblemsofmillimeter-wavecircuitperformance.
Chapter 5presentsthedesignanddevelopment ofthin-filmliquidcrystalpoly-
mer(LCP)surfacemountpackagesforX,K,andKa-bandapplications.Constructed
usingmulti-layerLCPfilms,thepackagesaresurfacemountedonaprintedcircuit
board(PCB).Packagesincludeatypicallowpassfeedthroughdesign,aswellasa
newbandpassfeedthroughdesign.
Chapter6reviewsthedesignoptionsandthematerialsavailabletomakeportable
productsanddiscusseswaystomeetpackagingdensityandperformanceneeds.The
materialdiscussionfocusesontypesoforganicmaterialsusedinportableproducts
andtechniquestomakePWBsthinner,lighterandcosteffective.
Chapter 7 shows how advances in ceramic materials and processing are per-
mitting the creation of increasingly complex multi-layer structures. Going beyond
simple routing structures, these ceramics become device elements, and critical
packagingformicro-electro-mechanicalRFsystems.
Chapter 8 discusses Laminated Waveguides, characterizing them numerically,
and addressing issues in material and process tradeoffs arising when considering
interconnectsonacommonsubstrateatmm-wavefrequencieswithregardstoinser-
tion loss and isolation between interconnects. Numerical simulations illustrate the
trade-offsusinglaminatedwaveguideorcommonstriplineinthesamematerialset.
Chapter 9 shows the latest developments in both simulation and fabrication of
LTCC for RF/MW packaging applications. It reviews current LTCC fabrication
methods and discusses the trend for RF/MW System in Package modules, high
bandwidthdesignandintegratedantenna.
Chapter 10 discusses advances in thermally dissipative composite materials.
The discussion covers constituents such as carbon nanotubes, diamond compos-
ites,andputssomenewspinonwell-knownmaterialssuchasaluminumnitrideand
berylliumoxide.
Chapter 11 reviews the heat sink material fabrication, application and develop-
mentforRF/MWpackaging.Thediscussioncoversthetraditional,secondandthird
generationsofheatsinkmaterials.
Chapter 12 reviews the latest development of AlN 3D MCM technology for
RF/MWpackaging.ThediscussioncoverstheAlNHTCCprocess,matchingwith
various tungsten pastes, impact of firing profiles and other practical design and
manufacturingissues.
We, the editors, give profuse thanks to all of the contributing authors, not just
formakingtheefforttoinformallofus,butforjumpingnumerousadministrative
Preface vii
hurdlesattheirvariousinstitutionstobringtheseadvancestoprint.Wealsowould
liketothankMr.NickZhouforhishelpinformattingthedraftchaptersandincon-
verting all figures to grey scale photos. Lastly we would like to thank Steve Elliot
andAndrewLeighfromSpringerfortheirconsistentsupportduringthelongjour-
ney to edit this book. Our involvement with these knowledgeable and informative
folkshasmadetheundertakingagreatpleasure.Itisoursincerehopethattheinfor-
mation conveyed here will illuminate the efforts of subsequent investigators, and
inspiretechnologicaladvancesthatwillhaveapositiveimpactforourworld.
Contents
1 Fundamentals of Packaging at Microwave
andMillimeter-WaveFrequencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
RickSturdivant
1.1 WavelengthandFrequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 LumpedElements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 TransmissionLines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.1 Dispersion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3.2 DispersionEffectsinHighSpeedSystems . . . . . . . 10
1.3.3 TransmissionLineDistributedEffects . . . . . . . . . 12
1.3.4 TransmissionLineCouplingandCrossTalk . . . . . . 13
1.4 PackageFabricationMethods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.4.1 Co-firedCeramics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.4.2 ThickFilmandThinFilmCeramics . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.4.3 OrganicSubstrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.5 Interconnects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2 Low-CostHigh-BandwidthMillimeterWaveLeadframe
Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
EricA.SanjuanandSeanS.Cahill
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.2 MicroCoaxApproach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.2.1 PackagingApproaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.2.2 LimitationstotheApproach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3 MicroCoax/LeadframeApproach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3.1 PackageI/OStructureConsiderations . . . . . . . . . 33
2.3.2 ModellingtheSignalPath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.3.3 Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3 PolymericMicroelectromechanicalMillimeterWaveSystems . . . 43
Yiin-KuenFuh,FirasSammoura,YingqiJiangandLiweiLin
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
ix
x Contents
3.2 Polymeric Millimeter Wave Systems using
MicromachiningTechnologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.3 FabricationExamplesofmm-WaveComponents . . . . . . . . 48
3.3.1 PolymericWaveguides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.3.2 Waveguide-BasedIrisFilters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.3.3 Waveguide-BasedTunableFiltersandPhaseShifters . 51
3.3.4 Waveguide-FedHornAntennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.3.5 W-BandWaveguideFeedingNetworkofa2×2
HornAntennaArray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.4 FundamentalCharacterizationsofPolymerMetallizationProcess 59
3.4.1 SurfaceRoughness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.4.2 CharacterizationofIn-channelElectroplatingThickness 61
3.4.3 GeometryEffects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4 Millimeter-WaveChip-on-BoardIntegrationandPackaging . . . . 69
EdwardB.Stoneham
4.1 Motivation for a Chip-on-Board Approach for
Millimeter-WaveProductManufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.1.1 TheDriveforLowCost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.1.2 Low-CostManufacturingProcesses . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.1.3 ProblemsSpecifictoMillimeter-WaveElectronics . . . 73
4.2 AChip-on-BoardSolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.2.1 TheSurface-MountPanel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.2.2 AttachingtheBareChips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.2.3 WireBondInterconnects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.2.4 EliminatingWireBondsintheRFPath. . . . . . . . . 84
4.2.5 CoverLamination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.2.6 Segregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.2.7 Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.3 ApplicationExamples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.3.1 A60-GHzTransceiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.3.2 Miniaturized60-GHzTransmitterandReceiverModules 89
4.3.3 76-GHzAutomotiveRadarModulePackage . . . . . . 89
4.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
5 Liquid Crystal Polymer for RF and Millimeter-Wave
Multi-LayerHermeticPackagesandModules . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
MarkP.McGrath,KuniaAihara,MorganJ.Chen,
ChengChen,andAnh-VuPham
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2 DesignandFabricationoftheThin-FilmLCPPackage . . . . . 93
5.3 LidConstructionandLamination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
5.4 ResultsandModelofLowpassFeedthrough . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Contents xi
5.5 HermeticityandLeakRateMeasurement . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
5.6 ReliabilityofLCPSurfaceMountPackages . . . . . . . . . . . 102
5.6.1 Non-operatingTemperatureStepStressing . . . . . . . 103
5.6.2 Non-operatingThermalShockTesting . . . . . . . . . 103
5.6.3 OperatingHumidityExposureTesting . . . . . . . . . 105
5.6.4 ReliabilityTestingSummary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
5.7 BandpassFeedthrough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
5.7.1 BandpassFeedthroughDesignandFabrication. . . . . 106
5.7.2 BandpassFeedthroughResultsandDiscussion . . . . . 109
5.8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
6 RF/MicrowaveSubstratePackagingRoadmapforPortable
Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
MumtazBora
6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.2 SubstrateMaterialsforPortableProducts . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
6.3 RFSubstrateMaterialsThermalandElectricalProperties . . . . 116
6.3.1 StandardFR-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
6.3.2 HighTGFR-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
6.3.3 Polyimide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
6.4 CyanateEsterBlend(BT-BismaleamideTriazine) . . . . . . . 118
6.5 PTFEBasedLaminates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
6.5.1 PTFEResinCoatedonConventionalGlass . . . . . . 119
6.5.2 PTFEFilmImpregnatedwithCyanateEsteror
EpoxyResin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
6.5.3 PTFEMixedwithLowDkCeramic . . . . . . . . . . 119
6.6 MaterialsSummary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
6.7 SubstrateCriticalProperties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
6.7.1 DielectricConstant(Dk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
6.7.2 DissipationFactor/DielectricLoss:(tanδ) . . . . . . . 121
6.7.3 GlassTransitionTemperature(Tg) . . . . . . . . . . . 121
6.7.4 GlassDecompositionTemperature;Td . . . . . . . . . 121
6.7.5 MoistureAbsorption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
6.7.6 CoefficientofThermalExpansion . . . . . . . . . . . 122
6.8 MaterialsSummary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
6.9 PortableProductsTechnologyRoadmap . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
6.10 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
6.11 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
7 CeramicSystemsinPackageforRFandMicrowave . . . . . . . . 129
ThomasBartnitzek,WilliamGautier,GuangwenQu,
ShiCheng,andAfshinZiaei
7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
7.2 RF-PLATFORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
xii Contents
7.2.1 LTCCforSystemsinPackage . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
7.2.2 DesignofCeramicPackages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
7.2.3 WhyMulti-ProjectWafersMadeofLTCC? . . . . . . 131
7.2.4 HermeticCappingofMEMSwithCeramicLids . . . . 132
7.2.5 LTCC Packages for Advanced RF and
MicrowaveApplications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
7.3 ThreeExamples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
7.3.1 4by4PatchAntennaArrayforOperationat35GHz . 135
7.3.2 LTCC for 77–81 GHz Automotive Radar
Systems-in-Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
7.3.3 24 GHz Switched Beam Steering Array
AntennaBasedonRFMEMSSwitchMatrix. . . . . . 145
7.4 RF-MEMSforRadarandTelecomApplications . . . . . . . . 155
7.4.1 ResearchActivitiesandTrendsonRF-MEMSSwitches 156
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
8 Low-TemperatureCofired-CeramicLaminateWaveguides
formmWaveApplications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
JerryAguirre
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
8.2 TheLaminatedWaveguide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
8.3 TransitionstoaLWG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
8.4 RectangularWaveguideTheory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
8.5 LTCCProcess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
8.6 InsertionLossinanLTCCLaminatedWaveguides . . . . . . . 174
8.7 U-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
8.8 V-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
8.9 E-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
8.10 W-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
8.11 F-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
8.12 LWG-to-LWGCoupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
8.13 LWGvs.Stripline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
8.14 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
9 LTCCSubstratesforRF/MWApplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
JianYangandZiliangWang
9.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
9.2 LTCCFabricationProcess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
9.3 CurrentStatusandTrend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
10 High Thermal Dissipation Ceramics and Composite
MaterialsforMicroelectronicPackaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
JuanL.SepulvedaandLeeJ.Vandermark
10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208