1. Additively Manufactured mm-Wave Multichip Modules With Fully Printed “Smart” Encapsulation Structures.
- Author
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He, Xuanke, Tehrani, Bijan K., Bahr, Ryan, Su, Wenjing, and Tentzeris, Manos M.
- Subjects
LOW noise amplifiers ,SEMIRINGS (Mathematics) ,MONOLITHIC microwave integrated circuits ,THREE-dimensional printing ,FUTURES market ,ELECTROMAGNETIC interference - Abstract
This article presents the first time that an millimeter-wave (mm-wave) multichip module (MCM) with on-demand “smart” encapsulation has been fabricated utilizing additive manufacturing technologies. RF and dc interconnects were fabricated using inkjet printing, while the encapsulation was realized using 3-D printing. Inkjet-printed interconnects feature superior RF performance, better mechanical reliability, and on-demand, low-cost fabrication process. Numerous test vehicles were initially produced to evaluate these additive manufacturing technologies and compare them with traditional ribbon bonding, exhibiting a superior $|\text{S}21|$ performance throughout the whole operation range up to 40 GHz with a peak of 3.3 dB better gain for a Ka-band low noise amplifier (LNA). A fully functioning front-end MCM was fabricated using the same inkjet-printed interconnect technology, which features smart encapsulation technology fabricated using the 3-D printing and integrated on-demand “smart” encapsulation for electromagnetic interference (EMI) mitigation. The proof-of-concept MCM demonstrates exceptional performance taking advantage of a low-cost, on-demand additive manufacturing method that requires minimal tooling and process steps, which can drastically accelerate the time to market for future 5G and Internet-of-Things applications. The methodologies presented in this article could potentially enable rapid production of high-performance, high-frequency customizable circuit packaging structures with on-demand “smart” features, such as self-diagnostics, EMI/EMC filtering, and integrated sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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