Supercomponents in ECM systems

Advantages and drawbacks of integrated multifunction packages, or supercomponents, are considered. Design advantages include enhanced electrical performance, lower production and operating costs, and dramatic size reduction. Drawbacks include difficulties in matching components, functions, and transmission media, and inflexibility in repair or modification. Emphasis is laid on the incompatibility of systems using stripline or microstrip as transmission media, and on the unfeasibility of attempting a mixed-media approach combining both stripline and microstrip. It is recommended that the choice of printed-circuit transmission medium be dictated by the dominant component function, and that the supercomponent approach be dropped when two or more incompatible components appear to dominate.