Ball Grid Array Integration of Wideband Planar Printed Array Apertures

This paper presents experimental results for a Planar Ultra-wideband Modular Antenna (PUMA) array integrated with a coaxial feed network using Ball Grid Array (BGA) technology. A PUMA aperture is designed and manufactured with a BGA interface in place of typical feed structures. The BGA-backed PUMA aperture is then connected to a matching BGA interface on a coaxial through test circuit, allowing typical embedded element RF characterization performance and functionality evaluation of the PUMA aperture as a BGA package.