Die-on-wafer and wafer-level 3D integration for millimeter-wave smart antenna transceivers

A three-dimensional (3D) IC technology platform for high-performance, heterogeneous integration of silicon ICs for mm-wave smart antenna transceivers is presented. The platform uses dielectric adhesive bonding of fully-processed wafer-to-wafer aligned ICs, followed by a three-step thinning process and copper damascene patterning to form inter-wafer interconnects. A low noise amplifier (LNA), power amplifier (PA), and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) are designed in RF-enhanced SiGe BiCMOS process to operate in the 24 GHz ISM band These critical design blocks serve as a step towards the realization of a complete system integrated with I/O matching networks, switches, antennas, and digital processing in a 3D configuration