Design considerations for using integrated passive components

The demand for smaller, lighter, faster and less expensive electronic products has led to the development of a laminate multi-chip module (MCM-L) process that contains integrated passive components. The University of Arkansas (UA) cooperated with Sheldahl Corporation and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), as a member of the DARPA funded MCM-L consortium, to develop this integrated passive MCM-L (IPMCM-L) process. It contains resistors, capacitors and inductors integrated in a flexible film. Parasitic extraction, modeling, and simulation must be performed to effectively utilize this process for high performance circuits. A design methodology addressing these issues is discussed along with the process layers and example device layouts.