MMIC packaging with Waffleline
Abstract
The design principle of Waffleline, a patented MMIC packaging technology, is discussed, and several recent applications are described and illustrated with drawings, diagrams, and photographs. Standard Waffleline is a foil-covered waffle-iron-like grid with dielectric-coated signal and power wires running in the channels and foil-removed holes for mounting prepackaged chips or chip carriers. With spacing of 50 mils between center conductors, this material is applicable at frequencies up to 40 GHz; EHF devices require Waffleline with 25-mil spacing. Applications characterized include a subassembly for a man-transportable SHF satellite-communication terminal, a transmitter driver for a high-power TWT, and a 60-GHz receiver front end (including an integrated monolithic microstrip antenna, a low-noise amplifier, a mixer, and an IF amplifier in a 0.25-inch-thick 1.6-inch-diameter package). The high package density and relatively low cost of Waffleline are emphasized.
- Publication:
-
Microwave Journal
- Pub Date:
- June 1990
- Bibcode:
- 1990MiJo...33..175P
- Keywords:
-
- Electronic Packaging;
- Integrated Circuits;
- Microwave Circuits;
- Chips (Electronics);
- Electronic Warfare;
- Gallium Arsenides;
- Millimeter Waves;
- Satellite Communication;
- Superhigh Frequencies;
- Electronics and Electrical Engineering