Compact Heterogeneous Integration for Next Generation High Frequency Scalable Array with Miniaturized and Efficient Power Delivery Network

TL;DR

This paper presents a compact, efficient heterogeneous integration approach for high-frequency arrays, reducing parasitics and loss to enable miniaturized systems with high bandwidth and power efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces novel packaging and power delivery techniques for integrated high-frequency arrays, achieving wideband operation and high efficiency in a compact form.

Findings

Achieved 9 Gb/s data rate with 64 QAM modulation.

Demonstrated 20% fractional bandwidth operation from 71-86 GHz.

Enhanced power efficiency with 25% EIRP/PDC ratio.

Abstract

Next generation communication and sensing require enabling technologies for miniaturized and efficient heterogeneous systems while integrating technologies ranging from silicon to compound semiconductors and from photonic chips to micro-sensors. To this end, high frequency and mm-wave (MMW) lossy parasitics and delay between modules need to be significantly reduced to minimize area, loss and thermal heating of inter-chip wiring and power delivery networks. In this work, we propose novel approaches to achieve an efficient wideband MMW array integrations. The proposed techniques are built upon the following: 1) fixed antenna package buildup for every element with differential excitation on two half sides of array to reduce the fabrication cost and the IC-to-antenna routing loss; 2) miniaturized aperture coupled local oscillator (LO) and intermediate frequency (IF) power delivery feed distribution to minimize the packaging stacked layers and their loss. The proposed 16-element antenna array is integrated which 4 dies in 2x2 configurations implemented in a 90-nm SiGe BiCMOS process using compact Weaver image-selection architecture (WISA). The proposed miniaturized and efficient architecture from circuit and chip level to package level results in 1.5 GHz modulation bandwidth for 64 QAM (9 Gb/s) and 2 GHz for 16 QAM with only +-2 dB EVM variation over the 20% FBW (71-86 GHz). The system produces 30-dBm EIRP with enhanced efficiency of 25% EIRP/PDC over the bandwidth