Packaging of a Beamforming IC by Laser Enhanced Direct Print Additive Manufacturing (LE-DPAM)

This paper presents the first demonstration of a 24.25-27.5 GHz 4-channel differential beamforming integrated circuit (BFIC) (AWMF-0135) packaged using a laser-enhanced direct print additive manufacturing (LE-DPAM) technique. LE-DPAM allows for the direct integration of the beamforming IC package, radio frequency (RF) signal, and digital control lines over a multi-layer electronic assembly structure. By taking advantage of the automated LE-DPAM platform capabilities (fused deposition modeling (FDM), microdispending, milling, and laser micromachining), we complete the entire packaging process without removing the BFIC from the printing bed.