As 6G wireless communications push the operation frequency above 110 GHz, it is critical to have low-loss interconnects that can be accurately tested. To this end, D-band (110 GHz to 170 GHz) substrate-integrated waveguides (SIWs) are designed on a 100-μm-thick SiC substrate. The fabricated SIWs are probed on-wafer in a single sweep from 70 kHz to 220 GHz with their input/output transitioned to grounded coplanar waveguides (GCPWs). From CPW-probed scattering parameters, two-tier calibration is used to de-embed the SIW-GCPW transitions and to extract the intrinsic SIW characteristics. In general, the record low loss measured agrees with that obtained from finite-element full-wave electromagnetic simulation. For example, across the D band, the average insertion loss is approximately 0.2 dB/mm, which is several times better than that of coplanar or microstrip transmission lines fabricated on the same substrate. A 3-pole filter exhibits a 1-dB insertion loss at 135 GHz with 20-dB selectivity and 11% bandwidth, which is order-of-magnitude better than typical on-chip filters. These results underscore the potential of using SIWs to interconnect transistors, filters, antennas, and other circuit elements on the same monolithically integrated chip.
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Sub-terahertz devices and test metrology
As 6G wireless communications push the operation frequency above 110 GHz, it is critical to have low-loss interconnects that can be accurately tested. To this end, D-band (110 GHz to 170 GHz) substrate-integrated waveguides (SIWs) are designed on a 100-μm-thick SiC substrate. The fabricated SIWs are probed on-wafer in a single sweep from 70 kHz to 220 GHz with their input/output transitioned to grounded coplanar waveguides (GCPWs). From CPW-probed scattering parameters, two-tier calibration is used to de-embed the SIW-GCPW transitions and to extract the intrinsic SIW characteristics. In general, the record low loss measured agrees with that obtained from finite-element full-wave electromagnetic simulation. For example, across the D band, the average insertion loss is approximately 0.2 dB/mm, which is several times better than that of coplanar or microstrip transmission lines fabricated on the same substrate. A 3-pole filter exhibits a 1-dB insertion loss at 135 GHz with 20-dB selectivity and 11% bandwidth, which is order-of-magnitude better than typical on-chip filters. These results underscore the potential of using SIWs to interconnect transistors, filters, antennas, and other circuit elements on the same monolithically integrated chip.
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- PAR ID:
- 10540147
- Publisher / Repository:
- ARGTEG Measurement Conference
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Calibration, millimeter wave integrated circuits, semiconductor waveguides, silicon carbide, transmission lines
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Austin, TX
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Proceeding:
- The DOI is not currently available.
