Scalable Multichip Packaging With Integrated Antenna Array for a 73-GHz Transceiver IC

The multichip packaging of an E-band (71-76 GHz) millimeter-wave (mmWave) phased-array transceiver with an integrated 4 × 4 antenna array is described. Each unit is populated with four identical 2.1 mm × 2.4 mm transceiver dies assembled on the bottom side of an 8.01 mm × 7.51 mm substrate sized so that multiple units may be placed on a PCB to form a larger array while maintaining constant antenna pitch. Key features of the packaging solution include integrated stacked-patch antennas with measured |S
₁₁
| less than -10 dB, die-to-antenna connection with simulated insertion loss less than 0.7 dB, on-package analog baseband splitters with 1-GHz bandwidth, and high-performance through-PCB cooling of the die, which are mounted to the bottom of the package.