Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090009399 | Antenna Array Feed Line Structures For Millimeter Wave Applications - Improved feed line networks for antenna arrays operating at millimeter wave frequencies are provided for constructing planar antenna arrays printed on the surface of a dielectric substrate. A planar antenna array includes an array of planar radiator elements interconnected through a feed line network of planar coplanar transmission lines that enable high-efficiency operation, at millimeter wave operating frequencies. For example, a feed network may be formed with a network of coplanar strip line transmission lines including one or more coplanar strip line (CPS) and one or more coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line, which are interconnected using balun structures, to enable high efficiency operation at millimeter wave frequencies. | 01-08-2009 |
20090015483 | Wafer-Scale Phased Array - An antenna array includes at least a first and a second substrate; a plurality of radiators located proximate to a surface of the first substrate opposite the second substrate; at least a first ground plane located between the first and the second substrate, the ground plane having a plurality of slots located therein; and a plurality of feed lines located proximate to a surface of the second substrate opposite the first substrate. | 01-15-2009 |
20090015485 | Method and Apparatus for Packaging an Integrated Chip and Antenna - In an illustrative embodiment, an apparatus includes at least one antenna structure located on a first surface of a first substrate; at least one pad located on the first surface of the first substrate; and at least one via traversing the first substrate and thereby connecting the at least one pad located on the first surface of the first substrate to at least one pad located on a second surface. The at least one pad located on the first surface of the first substrate is operatively coupleable to at least one pad located on a surface of an integrated circuit and the at least one pad located on the second surface is operatively coupleable to at least one pad located on a surface of a printed circuit board. The at least one via is thereby operative to couple the at least one pad located on the surface of the integrated circuit and the at least one pad located on the surface of the printed circuit board. | 01-15-2009 |
20090015496 | PLANAR CIRCULARLY POLARIZED ANTENNAS - A planar circularly polarized antenna comprises at least one coplanar waveguide feed line and a plurality of driven loops electrically connected to the feed line, wherein the driven loops and the feed line are substantially coplanar. At least one of the plurality of driven loops may be of a size different from at least another one of the plurality of driven loops and at least one of the plurality of driven loops may have a resonant frequency different from at least another one of the plurality of driven loops. | 01-15-2009 |
20090195464 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR PACKAGING INTEGRATED CIRCUIT CHIPS WITH ANTENNAS FORMED FROM PACKAGE LEAD WIRES - Apparatus and methods are provided for integrally packaging semiconductor IC (integrated circuit) chips with antennas having one or more radiating elements and tuning elements that are formed from package lead wires that are appropriated shaped and arranged to form antenna structures for millimeter wave applications. | 08-06-2009 |
20090207080 | Radio Frequency (RF) Integrated Circuit (IC) Packages with Integrated Aperture-Coupled Patch Antenna(s) - A radio-frequency integrated circuit chip package with at least one integrated aperture-coupled patch antenna includes at least one generally planar patch and at least one generally planar ground plane spaced inwardly from the generally planar patch and substantially parallel thereto. The ground plane is formed with at least one coupling aperture slot therein. The slot is substantially opposed to the patch. Also included are at least one feed line spaced inwardly from the ground plane and substantially parallel thereto, at least one radio frequency chip spaced inwardly from the feed line and coupled to the feed line and the ground plane, and a first substrate layer spaced inwardly from the feed line. The first substrate layer is formed with a chip-receiving cavity. The chip is located in the chip-receiving cavity. | 08-20-2009 |
20090256752 | RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) INTEGRATED CIRCUIT (IC) PACKAGES WITH INTEGRATED APERTURE-COUPLED PATCH ANTENNA(S) IN RING AND/OR OFFSET CAVITIES - A radio-frequency integrated circuit chip package has N integrated aperture-coupled patch antennas, N being at least two, and includes N generally planar patches, and at least one generally planar ground plane spaced inwardly from the N generally planar patches and substantially parallel thereto. The ground plane is formed with at least N coupling aperture slots therein, and the slots are substantially opposed to the patches. N feed lines are spaced inwardly from the ground plane and substantially parallel thereto, and at least one radio frequency chip is spaced inwardly from the feed lines and coupled to the feed lines and the ground plane. A first substrate layer is spaced inwardly from the feed lines, and is formed with a chip-receiving cavity, with the chip located in the chip-receiving cavity. A second substrate layer is interposed in a region between the ground plane and a plane defined by the patch, the patch is formed in a first metal layer, the ground plane is formed in a second metal layer, and the second substrate layer defines an antenna cavity in which the N generally planar patches are located. “Island” and “offset” configurations, as well as fabrication methods, are also disclosed. | 10-15-2009 |
20100001906 | RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) INTEGRATED CIRCUIT (IC) PACKAGES HAVING CHARACTERISTICS SUITABLE FOR MASS PRODUCTION - A radio-frequency integrated circuit chip package with N integrated aperture-coupled patch antennas, N being at least one, includes a cover portion with N generally planar patches, and a main portion coupled to the cover portion. The main portion in turn comprises at least one generally planar ground plane spaced inwardly from the N generally planar patches and substantially parallel thereto. The ground plane is formed with at least N coupling aperture slots therein. The slots are substantially opposed to the patches. The main portion also includes N feed lines spaced inwardly from the N generally planar patches and substantially parallel thereto, and at least one radio frequency chip coupled to the feed lines and the ground plane. The cover portion and the main portion cooperatively define an antenna cavity, with the N generally planar patches located in the antenna cavity. Fabrication techniques are also described. In some embodiments, N is two or more and a phased array is formed. | 01-07-2010 |
20100327068 | COMPACT MILLIMETER WAVE PACKAGES WITH INTEGRATED ANTENNAS - A radio-frequency integrated circuit chip package has at least one integrated antenna. The package includes at least one generally planar ground plane formed with at least one slot therein. A first substrate structure has an outer surface and an inner surface. The at least one generally planar ground plane is formed on the outer surface of the first substrate structure. At least one feed line is spaced inwardly from the ground plane and parallel thereto. The at least one feed line has an inner surface and an outer surface and is a transmission line formed on the inner surface of the first substrate structure with the outer surface of the at least one feed line adjacent the inner surface of the first substrate structure. At least one radio frequency chip is coupled to the feed line and the ground plane. A second substrate structure, spaced inwardly from the feed line, defines a chip-receiving cavity. The chip is located in the chip-receiving cavity. The inner surface of the at least one feed line borders the chip-receiving cavity. An antenna patch may be provided. Planar phased array embodiments, assemblies with motherboards and heat sinks, and fabrication techniques are also disclosed. | 12-30-2010 |
20110254727 | PHASED ARRAY MILLIMETER WAVE IMAGING TECHNIQUES - An apparatus, imager elements, and a method for detecting a radio frequency image using phased array techniques. An example apparatus includes an array of radio frequency antennas fabricated on one or more packaged integrated circuits. The apparatus also includes a controller configured to selectively phase shift radio frequency signals from the antennas such that the at least a portion of the radio frequency image is focused. | 10-20-2011 |
20120063094 | THERMAL INTERFACE MATERIAL APPLICATION FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT COOLING - Techniques provide improved thermal interface material application in an assembly associated with an integrated circuit package. For example, an apparatus comprises an integrated circuit module, a printed circuit board, and a heat transfer device. The integrated circuit module is mounted on a first surface of the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board has at least one thermal interface material application via formed therein in alignment with the integrated circuit module. The heat transfer device is mounted on a second surface of the printed circuit board and is thermally coupled to the integrated circuit module. The second surface of the printed circuit board is opposite to the first surface of the printed circuit board. | 03-15-2012 |
20120188138 | LAMINATED ANTENNA STRUCTURES FOR PACKAGE APPLICATIONS - Apparatus and methods for packaging IC chips and laminated antenna structures with laminated waveguide structures that are integrally constructed as part of an antenna package to form compact integrated radio/wireless communications systems for millimeter wave applications. | 07-26-2012 |
20120212384 | INTEGRATED ANTENNA FOR RFIC PACKAGE APPLICATIONS - A chip package includes a plurality of layers including conductive planes connected by vias. The layers include a first portion having an antenna formed therein and a parallel-plate mode suppression mechanism to suppress parallel-plate mode excitation of the antenna. The parallel-plate mode suppression mechanism includes a reflector offset from an antenna ground plane and first grounded vias. A second portion has an interface for connecting to an integrated circuit device wherein the first portion and the second portion are separated by the parallel-plate mode suppression mechanism. | 08-23-2012 |
20130016023 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR PACKAGING ANTENNAS WITH INTEGRATED CIRCUIT CHIPS FOR MILLIMETER WAVE APPLICATIONS - Apparatus and methods are provided for integrally packaging antennas with semiconductor IC (integrated circuit) chips to provide highly-integrated and high-performance radio/wireless communications systems for millimeter wave applications including, e.g., voice communication, data communication, and radar applications. For example, wireless communication modules are constructed with IC chips having receiver/transmitter/transceiver integrated circuits and planar antennas that are integrally constructed from BEOL (back end of line) metallization structures of the IC chip. | 01-17-2013 |
20130027243 | NEAR-FIELD MILLIMETER WAVE IMAGING - Systems and method for near-field millimeter wave imaging are provided, in particular, near-field millimeter wave imaging systems and methods that enable sub-wavelength resolution imaging by scanning objects with sub-wavelength probe elements and capturing and measuring phase and intensity of reflected energy to generate images. | 01-31-2013 |
20130027244 | NEAR-FIELD MILLIMETER WAVE IMAGING - Systems and method for near-field millimeter wave imaging are provided, in particular, near-field millimeter wave imaging systems and methods that enable sub-wavelength resolution imaging by scanning objects with sub-wavelength probe elements and capturing and measuring phase and intensity of reflected energy to generate images. | 01-31-2013 |
20130027271 | ANTENNA ARRAY PACKAGE AND METHOD FOR BUILDING LARGE ARRAYS - Array packages and methods for forming large-scale antenna arrays. One method includes aligning two or more array packages. The two or more array packages each include one or more bottom dielectric layers, an array of antennas arranged in a plane above the one or more bottom dielectric layers, a ground plane layer above the one or more bottom dielectric layers, and a conductive surface on at least a part of an outside surface of the array package and orthogonal to the plane of the array of antennas. The conductive surface is electrically connected to the ground plane layer. | 01-31-2013 |
20130069831 | PHASED-ARRAY TRANSCEIVER - Systems, methods, devices and apparatuses directed to transceiver devices are disclosed. In accordance with one method, a first set of antenna positions in a first section of a set of sections of a circuit layout for the circuit package is selected. The method further includes selecting another set of antenna positions in another section of the circuit layout such that an arrangement of selected antenna positions of the other set is different from an arrangement of selected antenna positions of a previously selected set of antenna positions. The selecting another set of positions in another section is iterated until selections have been made for a total number of antennas. The selecting the other set is performed such that consecutive unselected positions in the other section do not exceed a predetermined number of positions. In addition, antenna elements are formed at the selected positions to fabricate the circuit package. | 03-21-2013 |
20130118008 | THERMAL INTERFACE MATERIAL APPLICATION FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT COOLING - Techniques provide improved thermal interface material application in an assembly associated with an integrated circuit package. For example, an apparatus comprises an integrated circuit module, a printed circuit board, and a heat transfer device. The integrated circuit module is mounted on a first surface of the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board has at least one thermal interface material application via formed therein in alignment with the integrated circuit module. The heat transfer device is mounted on a second surface of the printed circuit board and is thermally coupled to the integrated circuit module. The second surface of the printed circuit board is opposite to the first surface of the printed circuit board. | 05-16-2013 |
20130207274 | WAFER-SCALE PACKAGE STRUCTURES WITH INTEGRATED ANTENNAS - Wafer-scale packaging structures and methods are provided for integrally packaging antenna structures with semiconductor RFIC (radio frequency integrated circuit) chips to form compact integrated radio/wireless communications systems for millimeter wave (mmWave) and Terahertz (THz) applications. For example, a chip package includes an RFIC chip, an antenna structure and an interface layer. The RFIC chip includes a semiconductor substrate having an active surface and an inactive surface, and a BEOL (back end of line) structure formed on the active surface of the semiconductor substrate. The antenna structure includes an antenna substrate and a planar antenna radiator formed on a surface of the antenna substrate, wherein the antenna substrate is formed of a low loss semiconductor material. The interface layer connects the antenna structure to the BEOL structure of the RFIC chip. | 08-15-2013 |
20140071021 | HYBRID ON-CHIP AND PACKAGE ANTENNA - Antenna devices, antenna systems and methods of their fabrication are disclosed. One such antenna device includes a semiconductor chip and a chip package. The semiconductor chip includes at least one antenna that is integrated into a dielectric layer of the semiconductor chip and is configured to transmit electromagnetic waves. In addition, the chip package includes at least one ground plane, where the semiconductor chip is mounted on the chip package such that the ground plane(s) is disposed at a predetermined distance from the antenna to implement a reflection of at least a portion of the electromagnetic waves. | 03-13-2014 |
20140145883 | MILLIMETER-WAVE RADIO FREQUENCY INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PACKAGES WITH INTEGRATED ANTENNAS - A package structure includes a planar core structure, an antenna structure disposed on one side of the planar core structure, and an interface structure disposed on an opposite side of the planar core structure. The antenna structure and interface structure are each formed of a plurality of laminated layers, each laminated layer having a patterned conductive layer formed on an insulating layer. The antenna structure includes a planar antenna formed on one or more patterned conductive layers of the laminated layers. The interface structure includes a power plane, a ground plane, signal lines, and contact pads formed on one or more patterned conductive layers of the laminated layers of the interface structure. The package structure further includes an antenna feed line structure formed in, and routed through, the interface structure and the planar core structure, and connected to the planar antenna. | 05-29-2014 |
20140145884 | PACKAGE STRUCTURES TO IMPROVE ON-CHIP ANTENNA PERFORMANCE - A radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) chip package is provided having an RFIC chip and an integrated antenna structure. The integrated antenna structure includes an on-chip antenna having one or more radiator elements formed as part of a back-end-of-line structure of the RFIC chip. The antenna structure further includes a superstrate structure disposed on the back-end-of-line structure of the RFIC chip. The superstrate structure includes at least one substrate layer and a focusing metal element. The focusing metal element has a structure that is complementary to the on-chip radiator elements and which is configured to focus electromagnetic radiation to and from the planar antenna structure. The superstrate structure improves the performance (e.g., antenna gain and bandwidth) of the on-chip antennas for millimeter-wave applications. | 05-29-2014 |
20150070228 | ANTENNA-IN-PACKAGE STRUCTURES WITH BROADSIDE AND END-FIRE RADIATIONS - Package structures are provided having antenna-in-packages that are integrated with semiconductor RFIC (radio frequency integrated circuit) chips to form compact integrated radio/wireless communications systems that operate in the millimeter wave (mm Wave) frequency range with radiation in broadside and end-fire directions. | 03-12-2015 |