Gain-enhanced LTCC system-on-package for automotive UMRR applications

A novel Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) based SoP for automotive radar applications is presented. For the first time a combination of a relatively low dielectric constant LTCC substrate and a high dielectric constant LTCC superstrate has been incorporated to enhance the overall gain of the module. The superstrate can provide additional protection to the integrated circuits (IC) in the harsh automotive environment. A custom cavity in the LTCC substrate can accommodate the IC, which feeds an aperture coupled patch antenna array. The cavity is embedded below the ground plane that acts as a shield for the IC from antenna radiation. It is estimated that with mere 10 dBm of transmitted RF power the miniature SoP module (sized 2.0 cm × 2.0 cm × 0.22 cm) can communicate up to 67 m. The design's compactness, robustness, transmission power and resultant communication range are highly suitable for Universal Medium Range Radar (UMRR) applications.