K. Vaesen

Single-package integration of RF blocks for a 5 GHz WLAN application

Transceivers for future digital telecommunications applications (third generation cellular, wireless LAN) need to be portable (compact), battery-powered and wireless. Todays single-chip solutions for RF front-ends do not yield complete system integration. For example, they typically still need external components for impedance matching, for antenna switches, for power amplifiers and for RF bandpass filters (BPFs). Furthermore, problems of substrate coupling (either manifesting as analog crosstalk or as noise coupling from the digital part to the analog part on mixed-signal chip) become more important with increasing integration. A system-in-a-package (SiP) approach can address these problems. High quality components can be integrated in the package, avoiding lower quality on-chip passives or circumventing expensive chip technology adaptations. Virtually all external components can be integrated, as shown in this paper for the case of the bandpass filters and the impedance matching. Even the antenna is a candidate for integration in the package. Further, a clever chip partitioning can reduce the substrate coupling problem. Partitioning also allows using the best IC-technoiogy for each component. This paper reports on a fully integrated single-package RF prototype module for a 5 GHz WLAN receiver front-end, which is intended to demonstrate the concept of SiP integration. The approach, that is illustrated here with prototype RF blocks for a 5 GHz WLAN application, is implemented with a thin film multichip module (MCM-D) interconnect technology. This technology also allows the integration of high quality passive components. With these passives, low-loss filters can be implemented. The use of passives, filters and off-the-shelf, active, bare die components opens the way to successful system integration.

A low-power radio chipset in 40nm LP CMOS with beamforming for 60GHz high-data-rate wireless communication

The link budget of multi-Gb/s wireless communication systems around 60GHz improves by beamforming. CMOS realizations for this type of communication are mostly limited to either one-antenna systems [1], or beamforming ICs that do not implement all radio functions [2]. The sliding-IF architecture of [3] uses RF phase shifting, which deteriorates noise performance.

From zero- to second-level packaging of RF-MEMS devices

This paper reports the full packaging and assembly of RF-MEMS devices for operation below 6GHz, comprising 0-level, 1-level and 2-level packaging. The fabrication process for the RF-MEMS devices is based on the Philips PASSI/spl trade/ process, which is adapted to accommodate the packaging. The 0-level assembly is based on solder bonding, and is realized on a flip-chip aligner/bonder under atmospheric pressure, at 240/spl deg/C. The 1-level package comprises a chip-scale-package (CSP) in which the 0-level packaged device is directly equipped with solder balls for the interconnect. The individual 1-level assemblies are then flip-chip mounted on a RF-board at 240/spl deg/C, completing the 2-level packaging. RF measurements of a 2nd-level packaged series switch showed an increase of the insertion loss of about 0.1 dB after 0-level packaging, increasing to about 0.5dB after 2nd-level packaging. Preliminary evaluation of the 0-level package hermeticity using switches configured as mechanical resonators indicates an hermetic seal.

Chip-package co-design of a 5 GHz RF front-end for WLAN

Single-package integration of complete transceivers based on a thin-film MCM technology (MCM-D) with integrated passives is demonstrated with a 6.7/spl times/6.5 mm/sup 2/ single-package front-end. This front-end includes the RF blocks and two RF bandpass filters of a 5 GHz WLAN receiver.

High-Q integrated spiral inductors for high performance wireless front-end systems

Inductors are essential components in wireless front-end systems. In this paper we present high-Q spiral inductors integrated in thin film multilayer MCM-D technology with quality factors of more than 100 at microwave frequencies. These inductors, together with other integrated passive components such as capacitors, resistors and interconnections are used to realize high performance systems for wireless front-ends. Examples of fully integrated filters, couplers, a DECT VCO and a LNA for 5.2 GHz wireless LAN applications are discussed.

Single-package 5GHz WLAN RF module with embedded patch antenna and 20dBm power amplifier

The demanding requirements of emerging telecom standards compel designers to conceive transceivers that integrate building blocks designed in different technologies. Such heterogeneous systems, together with the need for miniaturization, require packaging and integration techniques more involved than all current reported work. By combining a thin-film technology on a glass substrate (MCM-D) with laminates for the ball grid array (BGA) package, we can integrate, in a single package, a 5 GHz WLAN RF module. The package includes a BiCMOS IC, a GaAs power amplifier (PA) with 20 dBm output compression, a GaAs TX/RX switch with 1 dB insertion loss, high-quality integrated RF filters and a patch antenna with more than 80% efficiency.

3D SoP integration of a BAN sensor node

Wireless bioelectronics communication systems will greatly improve the quality of life. The successful realization of these systems depends on the integration of small low-power sensor nodes with integrated compact, cost-effective radio and antenna. In this paper we report on the realization of a low-power sensor node smaller than one cubic cm for use in ad-hoc body area networks (BAN). The first 3-D-stack prototype comprises a commercial low-power 8 million instruction per second microcontroller and a 2.4 GHz wireless transceiver, crystals and other necessary passives, as well as a custom-designed matched dipole antenna. The 3D stacked module with integrated antenna was successfully demonstrated with a line-of-sight range up to 50 meter using only 15mW while transmitting at a data rate of 1Mbps.

Integrated passive design library for multilayer PCB

An integrated passives library for a 4-metal layer microstrip PCB-technology has been developed featuring scaleable models for microstrip transmission lines, striplines, discontinuities, integrated single and multi-layer inductors and integrated capacitors. Capacitor Q-factors around 50 are obtained with Q-factors being primarily dominated by the dielectrics loss tangent. Inductor Q-factors around 40 are obtained for single and multi-layer integrated inductors. Bandpass filters, lowpass filters, quadrature couplers and baluns have been designed for the 2.4GHz and 5.2GHz band with good performance. The influence of temperature on the RF performance of integrated inductors, capacitors and an integrated bandpass filter has been evaluated over the 5degC-115degC temperature range

A digitally modulated 60GHz polar transmitter in 40nm CMOS

A 60GHz polar Tx prototype implemented in 40nm CMOS includes a two-stage PA with an RF-DAC, an I-Q upconversion mixer, a 60GHz LO hybrid and a digital synchronization interface. Saturated output power is approx. 10dBm, while RF output and baseband input bandwidths are 9GHz and 1.2GHz, respectively. The linear RF-DAC resolution is 5 bits. EVM degradation and spectral mask out-of-band distortion appear at input powers higher than 6dB above P-1dB. EVM is -19dB and -16dB at full rate, and -25.5dB and -22dB at reduced rates for QPSK and 16-QAM signals, respectively. The Tx consumes 75mW from 0.9V, and the core occupies 0.18mm2 of the 2.38mm2 testchip.

A 52–66GHz subharmonically injection-locked quadrature oscillator with 10GHz locking range in 40nm LP CMOS

A mm-wave subharmonically injection-locked quadrature oscillator is demonstrated in a 40nm low-power (LP) digital CMOS technology. A large locking range (10GHz), tunable over the 52-66GHz band, is achieved using transformer-coupled resonators. A simple calibration scheme is proposed that only relies on a relative power measurement of the oscillator output signal. The wide locking range, the wide tunability and the simple calibration scheme make this injection-locked quadrature oscillator design suitable for frequency synthesis in mm-wave CMOS communication systems.