Mm-wave microstrip and novel slot antennas on low cost large area panel MCM-D substrates-a feasibility and performance study

Abstract

Recently, there was significant growth in wireless telecommunication applications such as Cellular and Mobile phones, Personal Communication System, Wireless Local Area Network, Pagers, Global Positioning Satellite communication, etc. In future, telecommunication applications will shift more and more to the use of higher frequencies. Multichip Modules (MCMs) and MCM technologies are very close to micro- and millimeter-wave systems like transmitter/receiver (T/R) for radars and communication modules for wireless infrastructure links. There are various stringent requirements for MCMs in this frequency range but one of the most critical requirements is the ability of high RF performance together with high yield and low cost high volume production. Integration of RF circuits and elements with digital and analog circuits on the same substrate is essential to reduce the overall cost and physical dimensions of the whole system. The integrated antenna T/R is a very interesting alternative for applications where compact design, low cost, and high volume are important factors. Integration of the antenna in such a module is very difficult because the technological requirements driven by its performance characteristics (radiation efficiency, bandwidth) are opposite to these of non-radiating elements, where the radiation effect is not desirable. This issue is especially important for low-profile build-up MCM-D technologies where the problem of radiation efficiency of microstrip antennas is extremely difficult to solve. This paper will discuss the EM based modelling and practical design of microstrip and novel slot antennas in the mm-wave frequency range (30-85 GHz) on low cost MCM-D substrates. The critical parameters of millimeter design such as losses, bandwidth, and radiation pattern will be discussed. To perform this feasibility study a finite element method (FEM) is used as a simulation tool and HP8510XF Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) as a measurement equipment.