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Thick-Film Multilayer Microwave
Circuits for Wireless Applications

Charles Free
Advanced Technology Institute
University of Surrey, UK
and
Zhengrong Tian
Formely with Middlesex University
Now with NPL
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University of Surrey
- Located in Guildford ~ 30km south of London
- Approx. 5000 students
- Single campus - lot of student accommodation on-site
- Technological university
- Research-led university
- Top of UK research ratings in Electronic Engineering
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School of Electronics: Research Groups
- Surrey Space Centre
Small satellites: design + construction + control
- Advanced Technology Institute
Semiconductors + ion beam applications + microwave systems
- Centre for Communication Systems Research
Mobile + satellite communications
- Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing
Medical + Multimedia + Robotics

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Advanced Technology Institute
Microwave Systems:
- MMIC design
- RF and Microwave MCMs
- Microwave circuits and antennas
- thick-film (including photoimageable) processing
- access to clean rooms (class 1000 and class 100)
- measurement capability to 220GHz

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Thick-Film Multilayer
Microwave Circuits
for Wireless Applications
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CONTENTS

- Introduction
- Thick-film technology
- Significance of line losses
- Single layer microwave circuits
- Multilayer microwave circuits
- Summary



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INTRODUCTON
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Typical frequencies for wireless applications:

Current mobile: 0.9GHz - 2GHz
3G systems: 2.5GHz
Bluetooth: 2.5GHz
GPS: 12.6GHz
LMDS: 24GHz and 40GHz
Automotive: 77GHz

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Driving forces created by the wireless market:

lower cost
higher performance
greater functionality
increased packing density
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Microstrip: basic microwave interconnection
structure
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Summary of key material requirements at RF:

Conductors: - low bulk resistivity
- good surface finish (low surface roughness)
- high line/space resolution
- good temperature stability

Dielectrics: - low loss tangent (<10
-2
)
- good surface finish
- precisely defined c
r
(stable with frequency)

- isotropic c
r

- consistent substrate thickness
- low T
f
(< 50 ppm/
o
C)

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RF Transceiver Architecture
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Features of an RF MCM
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THICK-FILM TECHNOLOGY
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Thick-Film Technology
Advantages:
Low Cost
Feasibility for mass production
Adequate quality at microwave frequencies
Potential for multi-layer circuit structures
Difficulty:
Fabrication of fine line and gaps: limited
quality by direct screen printing
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Standard range of materials is used:

CONDUCTORS: - gold
- silver
- copper
DIELECTRICS: - ceramic (alumina)
- green tape (LTCC)
- thick-film pastes
- laminates

Plus photoimageable conductors and dielectrics
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Fine lines < 25 micron with 1 micron
precision
High density, 4 micron thick conductor
High conductivity - 95% of bulk

50m lines

96% Al
Photodefined conductors
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W
S
r
1

r
2

W
S
MICROSTRIP RESONANT RING
TEST STRUCTURE
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Microstrip Resonant Ring
can be used to measure total line loss and v
p

(measure Q loss, measure f
o
v
p
)
does not separate conductor and dielectric loss
ring is loaded by input and output ports - source
of measurement error
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can be used to measure total line loss and v
p

(measure Q loss, measure f
o
v
p
)
does not separate conductor and dielectric loss
ring is loaded by input and output ports - source
of measurement error
Meander-line test structure
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Chamfering of the corners is a necessary
precaution in microstrip to avoid reflections
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0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0.03
0.035
0.04
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Frequency (GHz)
L
i
n
e

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
/
m
m
)
measured simulated
Comparison of measured and simulated loss in a 50O line
fabricated on 99.6% alumina.
[substrate thickness = 254m and line width = 255m]

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0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44
Frequency (GHz)
L
i
n
e

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
/
w
a
v
e
l
e
n
g
t
h
)
Measured line loss: 50O thick-film microstrip line
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I
II
III
0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0.03
0.035
0.04
4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44
Frequency (GHz)
L
i
n
e

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
/
m
m
)
A
B
C
Typical microstrip line losses
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Skin effect: at RF and microwave frequencies current
tends to flow only in the surface of a conductor

Skin depth (o): depth of penetration at which the magnitude
of the current has decreased to 1/e of the surface value


o t
o
f
1
=
Significance: surface of conductors must be smooth
and the edges well defined to minimise losses
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0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0.03
0.035
0.04
0.045
0 10 20 30 40 50
Frequency (GHz)
L
i
n
e

l
o
s
s

(
d
B
/
m
m
)
RGH=0.5
RGH=0.2
RGH=0.1
RGH=0
Effect of surface roughness on the loss
in a microstrip line
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Effect of loss tangent on line loss
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0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Line
Loss
(%)
8 20 32 44
Frequency (GHz)
Bulk Conductor Loss Loss due to Surface Roughness Dielectric Loss
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0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Line
Loss
(%)
Al LTCC
Different Material (evaluated at 2GHz)
Bulk Conductor Loss Loss due to Surface Roughness Dielectric Loss
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LTCC TECHNOLOGY

LTCC technology is a well-established technology
Reliability established in the automotive market

Advantages for high frequency applications:

parallel processing ( high yield, fast turnaround,
reduced cost)
precisely defined parameters
high performance conductors
potential for multi-layer structures
high interconnect density
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LTCC TECHNOLOGY

Microwave applications:
- LTCC can meet the physical and electrical
performance demanded at frequencies above
1GHz
- Increases in material and circuit production
are reflected in lower costs: LTCC is now
comparable to FR4
- Significant space savings when compared to
other technologies, such as FR4

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SIGNIFICANCE OF LINE LOSSES
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MICROWAVE RECEIVER
Feeder

BPF1 BPF2 LNA Mixer
Schematic of front-end of a microwave receiver
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RECEIVER NOISE PERFORMANCE
System noise temperature (T
sys
)
Feeder

BPF1 BPF2 LNA Mixer
........
2 1 2
2
1
1
+ + + + + =
BPF pa BPF feeder
m
BPF pa feeder
BPF
BPF feeder
pa
feeder
BPF
feeder sys
G G G G
T
G G G
T
G G
T
G
T
T T
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RECEIVER NOISE PERFORMANCE
........
2 1 2
2
1
1
+ + + + + =
BPF pa BPF feeder
m
BPF pa feeder
BPF
BPF feeder
pa
feeder
BPF
feeder sys
G G G G
T
G G G
T
G G
T
G
T
T T
Significance of expression for T
sys
:
noise performance dominated by first stage
a lossy first stage introduces noise:
T
feeder
= (L -1) 290
a lossy first stage magnified noise from
succeeding stages: G
feeder
< 1
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Dielectric Properties @ 9GHz
Material c
r
Tan o x 10
-3
99.5% AL 9.98 0.1
LTCC1 7.33 3.0
LTCC2 6.27 0.4
LTCC3 7.2 0.6
LTCC4 7.44 1.2
LTCC5 6.84 1.3
LTCC6 8.89 1.4
Published material data
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CALCULATED RESULTS Noise figure variation
Feeder

BPF1 BPF2 LNA Mixer
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5
tand=0.005 tand=0.001 tand=0.0001
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SINGLE-LAYER MICROWAVE
CIRCUITS
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Single-layer microstrip circuits:
all conductors in a single layer
coupling between conductors achieved through
edge or end proximity (across narrow gaps)

Problem:
difficult to fabricate (cheaply in production) fine
gaps, possibly < 10m
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End-coupled
filter
Directional
coupler
Examples of single-layer microstrip circuits
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DC break
Edge-coupled
filter
Examples of single-layer microstrip circuits
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MULTI-LAYER MICROWAVE
CIRCUITS
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Multilayer microwave circuits:
conductors stacked on different layers
conductors separated by dielectric layers
allows for (strong) broadside coupling
eliminated need for fine gaps
registration between layers not as difficult to
achieve as narrow gaps
technique well-suited to thick-film print technology
also suitable for LTCC technology
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3 Isolated port


Direct port 4
Ground plane
H
h
1

r

W
1

W
2

r1

1
2 Coupled port
l
S
Main substrate
Thick-film dielectric layer
Input port
Multilayer
configuration
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Thick-film technology is particularly suitable for the
implementation of multilayer circuits:
higher packing density
integration of antenna
close coupling between conductors

Circuit examples:
- DC block
- Directional coupler

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Single Layer
Structure
Multilayer Concept
Directional Coupler
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-35
-30
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Frequency (GHz)
2dB Directional Coupler - Measured Results
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-50
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Frequency (GHz)
3dB Directional Coupler - Measured Results
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/4
Microstrip DC block
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300um
380um
Alumina
c
r
= 3.9
180um
Multilayer DC block
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1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Frequency (GHz)
V
S
W
R
Measured performance of multilayer DC block
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0
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Frequency (GHz)
I
n
s
e
r
t
i
o
n

L
o
s
s

(
d
B
)
Measured performance of multilayer DC block
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SUMMARY
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SUMMARY:
- Thick-film technology provides a viable fabrication
process for wireless circuits at microwave frequencies
- Multilayer microwave circuits can offer enhanced
performance for coupled-line circuits
- Photoimageable thick-film materials extend the usable
frequency range to mm-wavelengths

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C.Free@surrey.ac.uk

www.ee.surrey.ac.uk

www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/ati