Compact low phase-noise MEMS-based RF oscillator on a dedicated silicon-ceramic composite substrate

Over the last few years, a unique silicon-ceramic composite substrate technology has been developed, where a silicon wafer can be directly bonded to a stack of low-temperature co-fired ceramic layers. With this approach, a composite substrate is constructed which combines the advantages of two versatile materials for the design of integrated RF modules: the superior electrical performance of low-temperature co-fired ceramic technology for the realisation of three-dimensional passive RF and microwave circuitry, and the unique possibilities for the integration of microelectromechanical systems on the silicon wafer. Additionally, it is feasible to fabricate CMOS integrated circuits directly on the silicon wafer. Within this work, the powerful concept of the silicon-ceramic composite substrate is explained and illustrated in terms of a compact MEMS resonator-based RF oscillator module.