Single-package 5GHz WLAN RF module with embedded patch antenna and 20dBm power amplifier

The demanding requirements of emerging telecom standards compel designers to conceive transceivers that integrate building blocks designed in different technologies. Such heterogeneous systems, together with the need for miniaturization, require packaging and integration techniques more involved than all current reported work. By combining a thin-film technology on a glass substrate (MCM-D) with laminates for the ball grid array (BGA) package, we can integrate, in a single package, a 5 GHz WLAN RF module. The package includes a BiCMOS IC, a GaAs power amplifier (PA) with 20 dBm output compression, a GaAs TX/RX switch with 1 dB insertion loss, high-quality integrated RF filters and a patch antenna with more than 80% efficiency.