Antenna-in-Package in LTCC for 60-GHz Radio

An IEEE standards group, 802.15.3c, is defining specifications for 60-GHz radio to use the 7 GHz of unlicensed spectrum to enable very high-data-rate applications such as high-speed Internet access, streaming content downloads, and wireless data bus for cable replacement. An antenna plays a key role in a radio as it has independent properties that affect the radio as a whole. Antenna designs for radio operating at 60 GHz or above are turning to antenna-on-chip (AoC) and antenna-in-package (AiP) solutions. In this paper we present the design, fabrication, and characterization of two novel AiPs in ceramic ball grid array packages using low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) technology for 60-GHz radio. LTCC process can embed high-quality passives in low loss ceramic substrates, while allowing active devices to be mounted on/in them. The LTCC process produces mechanically strong, hermetically sealed, thermally conductive, chemically inert, and dimensionally stable structures with high yield. Therefore, the LTCC process has recently been added to the narrow list of technologies capable of realizing millimeter-wave wireless systems