Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZMAntenna in Package Development
Antennas are core components in wireless communication and radar systems. Due to the increasing operating frequencies (millimeter-Waves and sub-terahertz frequencies), integrated antennas for so-called antenna-in-package (AiP) modules are becoming more and more relevant. The higher frequencies are needed to address the demands for increased data traffic and improved object recognition.
By use of the AiP concept, all passive and active components can be integrated in one platform by applying different packaging technologies. To that end, we design, investigate and characterize the applied antennas and also optimize the complete signal path between antennas and other components in the package such as front-end transceiver devices and other passive components.
We develop different types of antennas for dedicated applications and investigate, analyze and optimize the antenna performance for different packaging concepts. The properties of all involved materials and interconnects are considered as well. At IZM we are equipped with extensive measurement devices for the characterization of antennas, includes network analyzers for S-parameter measurements and two anechoic chambers to determine the radiation pattern both, the near and far field up to 325 GHz. Various methods are available to contact the antenna structures: connectors, GSG probes and excitation via waveguides. The necessary matching structures between measurement equipment and antenna are also developed in house.
In addition to the development of application-specific antennas, our focus is on the determination of the total number of required antenna elements by link budget analysis for base stations of different mobile communication networks such as 4G, 5G as well as 6G scenarios in the sub-THz range, for satellite communication systems for LEO, MEO and GEO (ground and space segments) and also for radar applications like autonomous driving.