Characterization of Embedded and Thinned RF Chips

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

This work studies the effect of thinning down chips with transmission line structures for flexible embedding technology. Test chips with 90 Ω grounded coplanar waveguide (G-CPW) transmission lines have been designed and manufactured to characterize the high-frequency performance before and after embedding in sheet molding compound (SMC), and thinning down from 300 µm to 20 µm. Molding first technology enables single-die or multiple-die thinning with the embedding material while being held in the exact position, where the subsequent fan-out copper (Cu) redistribution layer (RDL) structuring realizes the direct contacts to the embedded chip, followed by semi-additive manufacturing of traces. The embedded and thinned chips are characterized by S-parameter measurements in the frequency range from 20 MHz to 65 GHz using a vector network analyzer (VNA). The results show the feasibility of the examined embedding and thinning processes which are suitable for millimeter wave (mmWave) components as shown by the example of a G-CPW transmission line without degrading its RF performance in terms of characteristic impedance and attenuation.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)410-415
Number of pages6
JournalAdvancing Microelectronics
Volume2023
Issue numberEMPC
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-2197-6080/work/212487954
ORCID /0000-0001-6778-7846/work/212489809
ORCID /0000-0002-0757-3325/work/212489906
ORCID /0000-0001-9720-0727/work/212490092
ORCID /0000-0003-1319-0870/work/212490917

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • chip embedding, chip thinning, flexible packaging, millimeter wave, tactile internet, transmission line