3-D-integrated RF and millimeter-wave functions and modules using liquid crystal polymer (LCP) system-on-package technology

Electronics packaging evolution involves system, technology, and material considerations. In this paper, we present a novel three-dimensional (3-D) integration approach for system-on-package (SOP)-based solutions for wireless communication applications. This concept is proposed for the 3-D integration of RF and millimeter (mm) wave embedded functions in front-end modules by means of stacking substrates using liquid crystal polymer (LCP) multilayer and /spl mu/BGA technologies. Characterization and modeling of high-Q RF inductors using LCP is described. A single-input-single-output (SISO) dual-band filter operating at ISM 2.4-2.5 GHz and UNII 5.15-5.85 GHz frequency bands, two dual-polarization 2/spl times/1 antenna arrays operating at 14 and 35 GHz, and a WLAN IEEE 802.11a-compliant compact module (volume of 75/spl times/35/spl times/0.2 mm/sup 3/) have been fabricated on LCP substrate, showing the great potential of the SOP approach for 3-D-integrated RF and mm wave functions and modules.