A 60-GHz-band 2 x 4 planar dipole array antenna module fabricated by 3-D SiP technology

A 2 × 4 phased array antenna module has been developed for 60-GHz-band short- range high-speed wireless communication terminals. To realize the required vertical distance between the antenna elements, the module is made of five sheets of multi-layered organic substrates vertically stacked with Cu balls, and the 1 x 4 dipole array antenna is placed on both the top and bottom organic substrates. To reduce the mutual coupling between the element antennas, a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is flip-chip mounted on the feed line of each element antenna. The Au-stud bump flip-chip mounting technique helps achieve a lower return loss in the transition section at the MMIC than the Au-wire bonded. The placement accuracy of each antenna element in the vertical direction, 60-GHz signal vertical interconnection between the substrates with Cu balls, and flip-chip mounting of the MMIC are confirmed by 3-D computed tomography (CT) scans.