Open AccessBroadband on‐chip contact pad to microstrip transition with low loss in SiGe BiCMOS technology
Author(s) -
Vangerow C.,
Göttel B.,
Müller D.,
Zwick T.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
electronics letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.375
H-Index - 146
ISSN - 1350-911X
DOI - 10.1049/el.2018.5667
Subject(s) - insertion loss , microstrip , materials science , broadband , optoelectronics , coplanar waveguide , substrate (aquarium) , monolithic microwave integrated circuit , silicon , electrical engineering , lossy compression , printed circuit board , electronic engineering , engineering , telecommunications , microwave , computer science , amplifier , oceanography , cmos , artificial intelligence , geology
A broadband, compact on‐chip contact pad to microstrip transition for use in silicon (Si) based technologies operating up to 330 GHz has been investigated and fabricated. The pad is designed as a short coplanar waveguide structure to concentrate the electrical field in the narrow gap between signal and ground pads, thus eliminating the need for a substrate shield while preserving low interaction with the lossy silicon substrate. The working principle is confirmed by electromagnetic field simulations using a detailed model of a high‐frequency measurement probe, which allows to investigate the field distribution with a realistic excitation source. The fabricated test structure with two transitions in a back‐to‐back configuration shows excellent broadband properties and insertion loss below 4.2 dB up to 330 GHz, making the proposed structure well suited for millimetre‐wave applications.