Microwave-range applications of thin film and thick film technologies

This paper discusses microwave propagation lines achieved in microelectronics with a microstrip or suspended microstrip structure, based on two types of technology (thin film and thick film). The first part describes the line attenuation measurement methods, and a comparison is made of the results obtained with screen-printed thick films and thin films. LEP copper yields results roughly comparable to those obtained with gold thin films. The possibilities of the two technologies are then compared for the fabrication of add-on elements (resistors, sandwich capacitors) and line end elements (microwave short-circuits, locally adapted or distributed loads). Examples of applications are then given: reception converter, 1 GHz amplifier, Gunn diode oscillator tuned by YIG sphere, and HF receiving head for digital transmission at 18.5 GHz.