EP1745418A1 - Systeme radiofrequence dans un boitier comprenant une antenne - Google Patents

Systeme radiofrequence dans un boitier comprenant une antenne

Info

Publication number
EP1745418A1
EP1745418A1 EP04731351A EP04731351A EP1745418A1 EP 1745418 A1 EP1745418 A1 EP 1745418A1 EP 04731351 A EP04731351 A EP 04731351A EP 04731351 A EP04731351 A EP 04731351A EP 1745418 A1 EP1745418 A1 EP 1745418A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
antenna
package
circuit
radio
ofthe
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP04731351A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Jordi Soler Castany
Jaume Anguera Pros
Carles Puente Baliarda
Carmen Borja Borau
José MUMBRU FORN
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Fractus SA
Original Assignee
Fractus SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Fractus SA filed Critical Fractus SA
Publication of EP1745418A1 publication Critical patent/EP1745418A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q9/00—Electrically-short antennas having dimensions not more than twice the operating wavelength and consisting of conductive active radiating elements
    • H01Q9/04—Resonant antennas
    • H01Q9/30—Resonant antennas with feed to end of elongated active element, e.g. unipole
    • H01Q9/40—Element having extended radiating surface
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L23/00—Details of semiconductor or other solid state devices
    • H01L23/58—Structural electrical arrangements for semiconductor devices not otherwise provided for, e.g. in combination with batteries
    • H01L23/64—Impedance arrangements
    • H01L23/66—High-frequency adaptations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/36—Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewith
    • H01Q1/38—Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewith formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
    • H01Q21/0006—Particular feeding systems
    • H01Q21/0025—Modular arrays
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L2223/00—Details relating to semiconductor or other solid state devices covered by the group H01L23/00
    • H01L2223/58—Structural electrical arrangements for semiconductor devices not otherwise provided for
    • H01L2223/64—Impedance arrangements
    • H01L2223/66—High-frequency adaptations
    • H01L2223/6661—High-frequency adaptations for passive devices
    • H01L2223/6677—High-frequency adaptations for passive devices for antenna, e.g. antenna included within housing of semiconductor device
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L23/00—Details of semiconductor or other solid state devices
    • H01L23/48—Arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the solid state body in operation, e.g. leads, terminal arrangements ; Selection of materials therefor
    • H01L23/488—Arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the solid state body in operation, e.g. leads, terminal arrangements ; Selection of materials therefor consisting of soldered or bonded constructions
    • H01L23/498—Leads, i.e. metallisations or lead-frames on insulating substrates, e.g. chip carriers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L2924/00—Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
    • H01L2924/0001—Technical content checked by a classifier
    • H01L2924/0002—Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L2924/00—Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
    • H01L2924/095—Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00 with a principal constituent of the material being a combination of two or more materials provided in the groups H01L2924/013 - H01L2924/0715
    • H01L2924/097—Glass-ceramics, e.g. devitrified glass
    • H01L2924/09701—Low temperature co-fired ceramic [LTCC]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L2924/00—Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
    • H01L2924/30—Technical effects
    • H01L2924/301—Electrical effects
    • H01L2924/3011—Impedance

Definitions

  • Radio-Frequency System in Package including Antenna
  • the present invention relates generally to novel integrated circuit packages that include a new family of miniature antennas in the package.
  • SoC System on Chip
  • SoP System on Package
  • patent application WO 01/54225 Al discloses a set of space-filling antenna geometries (SFC) that are suitable for this purpose. Another advantage of such SFC geometries is that in some cases they feature a multiband response.
  • the dimension (D) is a commonly used parameter to mathematically describe the complexity of some convoluted curves.
  • box-counting dimension which is well-known to those skilled in advanced mathematics theory is used to characterize some embodiments (see discussion on the mathematical concept of dimension in [3] or [4]).
  • So-called chip-antennas are described in [5] or [6]. Those are typically single component antenna products that integrate only the antenna inside a surface- mount device. To achieve the necessary wavelength compression, those antennas are mainly constructed using high permitivity materials such as ceramics. The drawbacks of using such high permitivity materials are that the antenna has a very narrow bandwidth, the material introduces significant losses, and the manufacturing procedure and materials are not compatible with most package manufacturing techniques; therefore they do not currently include other components or electronics besides the antenna, and they are not suitable for a FWSoC orFWSoP.
  • RF SoP configurations that also include antennas on the package. Again, most of these designs rely on a conventional microstrip, shorted patch or PIFA antenna that is suitable for large frequencies (and therefore small wavelengths) and feature a reduced gain.
  • a SoP including an RF front-end with an integrated antenna is described.
  • the antenna comprises a microstrip patch backed by a cavity which is made with shorting pins and operates at 5.8 GHz .
  • Another design for an antenna on a package is disclosed in [8].
  • Patent application EP1126522 describes a particular double S-shaped antenna design that is mounted on a BGA package. Although no precise data is given on the package size in the application, typically, S-shaped slot antennas resonate at a wavelength on the order of twice the unfolded length of the S-shaped pattern. Again, this makes the whole package too large for typical wireless applications where the wavelength is above 120 mm. Also, this design requires a combination with high permitivity materials that, in turn, reduce the antenna bandwidth, increase its cost and decreases the overall antenna efficiency.
  • SLL single-in-line
  • DLL dual-in-line
  • DIL-SMT dual-in-line with surface mount technology
  • QFP quad-flat-package
  • PGA pin grid array
  • BGA ball grid array
  • PBGA plastic ball grid array
  • CBGA ceramic ball grid array
  • TBGA tape ball grid array
  • SBGA super ball grid array
  • micro ball grid array BGA ® leadframe packages or modules.
  • MCM Multichip Module
  • Those consist of an integrated circuit package that typically contains several chips (i.e., several semiconductor dies) and discrete miniature components (biasing capacitors, resistors, inductors).
  • MCM packages are classified in three main categories: laminated (MCM-L), ceramic (MCM-C) and deposited (MCM-D). Some combinations thereof are possible as well, such as e.g. MCM- L/D and other derivations such as Matsushita ALIVH.
  • MCM packaging techniques cover a wide range of materials for the substrate (for instance E- glass/epoxy, E-glass/polyimide, woven Kevlar/epoxy, s-glass/cyanate ester, quartz/polymide, thermount/HiT epoxy, thermount/polyimide, thermount/cyanate ester, PTFE, RT-Duroid 5880, Rogers RO3000 ® and RO4000 ® , polyiolefin, alumina, sapphire, quartz glass, Corning glass, beryllium oxide and even intrinsic GaAs and silicon) and manufacturing processes (thick film, thin film, silicon thin film, polymer thin film, LTCC, HTCC).
  • materials for the substrate for instance E- glass/epoxy, E-glass/polyimide, woven Kevlar/epoxy, s-glass/cyanate ester, quartz/polymide, thermount/HiT epoxy, thermount/polyimide, thermount/cyan
  • the objective technical problem to be solved by the invention is to provide a system with improved characteristics in view of the prior art, said device being applicable in various ways.
  • the present invention generally relates to novel integrated circuit packages, modules or systems comprising a new family of miniature antennas according to the any independent claim. Also, the invention relates to several novel ways of arranging the materials and components of the package to include the antenna.
  • main advantages of the invention are as follows: - the small size of the antenna, which allows the use of very small packages (such as for instance CSP packages) at typical wireless wavelengths; - the antenna geometry that enables such a miniaturization; - the arrangement of the antenna in the package; - the compatibility of the antenna design with virtually any state of the art packaging architecture; - scaled and distributed devices can be put together in an economical and efficient way; - the heating-up effect of the package can be dissipated to an external component or an additional package, reducing the risk of malfunction of the device; - several packages can be combined/put together, e.g. packages of RF circuits and/or antennas to be e.g. maintained by a processor to combine signals to be used in a multiple input multiple output (MLMO) environment. This might lead to a scalability of the packages according to the demands of the respective environment or system.
  • very small packages such as for instance CSP packages
  • the present invention relies on the specific novel design of the antenna geometry and its ability to use the materials that are currently being used for integrated circuit package construction, so that the cost is minimized while allowing a smooth integration with the rest of the system.
  • the objective problem is solved by a system comprising at least one antenna and a circuit, wherein the circuit is at least in part not a silicon chip or a die.
  • the at least one antenna and the circuit are arranged on a package.
  • the problem is also solved by a system comprising at least one antenna and at least one circuit, wherein the at least one antenna and the at least one circuit are arranged on a package, wherein the at least one circuit performs a base-band and/or a digital functionality.
  • This base-band functionality comprises e.g.: - Conversion from a digital bitstream to a sequence of symbols in transmission, or symbol acquisition and digital data regeneration in reception; - Clock recovery and symbol synchronization; - Automatic gain control; - Error correction algorithms; - Data encryption/decryption; - Channel estimation for adaptive detection; - Memory blocks (for example for temporary data storage, for programming other digital blocks, etc.); - Transmission Reception buffers for storage of received packets and packets to be transmitted; or - Microprocessors and/or microcontrollers to carry out data processing, control tasks (like data handshaking with other chips), implement communication ports protocols (like USB) or audio features (like an audio CODEC).
  • - Conversion from a digital bitstream to a sequence of symbols in transmission, or symbol acquisition and digital data regeneration in reception comprises e.g.: - Conversion from a digital bitstream to a sequence of symbols in transmission, or symbol acquisition and digital data regeneration in reception; - Clock recovery and symbol synchronization;
  • the (at least one) circuit comprises a radio- frequency circuit (RF-circuit).
  • the coupling between the at least one antenna and the radio-frequency circuit can be a reactive coupling, in particular a capacitive or inductive coupling.
  • the radio-frequency circuit is connected to or located on a ground plane. Yet another embodiment is directed to at least some of the connections of the radio-frequency circuit being balanced.
  • a radio-frequency component is arranged outside the package.
  • this radio-frequency component could be a matching network.
  • the radio-frequency component can be a matching network, a bypass or a through-connection.
  • the radio-frequency circuit on the package can be a matching network, a bypass or a through-connection.
  • the radio-frequency component arranged outside the package could be an external circuit as well as an external sub-circuit, the latter e.g. being part of a larger circuit.
  • This external circuit or sub-circuit can be or comprise a radio-frequency circuit, respectively.
  • the radio-frequency component outside the package as well as the radio-frequency circuit on the package can be a power amplifier, respectively.
  • radio-frequency circuit internal
  • radio-frequency component external to the package
  • - Power amplifier Low noise amplifier
  • Filters - Diplexer
  • Local oscillators like a quartz crystal oscillator
  • Modulator/demodulator - Switch
  • Mixer - (Signal) Detector
  • Phase shifter or - balun.
  • the at least one antenna is connected to the radio- frequency circuit and at least in part the radio-frequency circuit is connected to the radio-frequency component outside the package.
  • the at least one antenna is connected to the to the radio-frequency component outside the package directly.
  • the radio-frequency circuit can comprise a balun.
  • this balun can be incorporated as a printed circuit or as a discrete component.
  • the balun can be placed inside the package or outside of the package.
  • the ground plane is not located underneath or on top of the at least one antenna.
  • the projection of the antenna should not be on a ground plane.
  • the package can be an integrated circuit package (IC package).
  • IC package integrated circuit package
  • the radio-frequency circuit or the radio-frequency component includes at least one filter.
  • this filter is or comprises a band-pass characteristics.
  • other filter types as high-pass or low-pass filters or combinations thereof can be provided.
  • a next embodiment is directed to the at least one antenna being connected to an input/output connector of the package and at least a part of the circuit being connected to an input/output connector of the package.
  • Said connectors can be the same or different ones.
  • the at least one antenna is a space filling antenna.
  • the space filling antenna has a dimension bigger than 1.
  • there exist several definitions of the dimension e.g. a box counting dimension and a grid dimension.
  • these dimensions amount to numbers between 1 and 2, respectively, in particular the dimensions amount to 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0. The respective value depend on the miniaturization of the packet size.
  • space filling is directed to the ability of filling the space where the curve is located.
  • This space could be an approximated surface or some sort of three-dimensional volume.
  • increasing the number of segments, reducing the size of the segments, narrowing the angles between the segments and increasing the dimension of the curve will lead to further miniaturization, respectively.
  • the antenna can comprise a conducting pattern at least a portion of which includes a curve, wherein said curve comprises at least five segments.
  • said curve comprises at least five segments.
  • Each of the at least five segments forming a pair of angles with each adjacent segment in said curve and at least three of said segments are shorter than 1/10 of the longest free-space operating wavelength of said at least one antenna.
  • the smaller angle of the pair of angles between adjacent segments is less than 180° and at least two of said smaller angles between adjacent section segments are less than 115°, wherein at least two of the angles, which are on the same side of the curve and are formed from adjacent segments of the group of said at least five segments, are different.
  • said conducting pattern fits inside a rectangular area, the longest side of said rectangular area being shorter than 1/5 of the longest free-space operating wavelength of said at least one antenna.
  • the number of "at least five" segments can as well be in particular seven, nine, eleven, fifteen, twenty or twenty-five segments.
  • at least the at least one antenna and/or the radio frequency circuit comprise(s) a connection with a radio-frequency input/output connector.
  • the radio-frequency component outside the package can as well comprise such a connection with a radio-frequency input/output connector.
  • the at least one antenna can be a modular or a discrete component.
  • the modular or discrete component can be a surface mount technique component (SMT component).
  • both ends of the at least one antenna can be connected to the package, in particular to Input/Output connectors of the package.
  • both ends of the antenna are connected to Input/Output connectors of the package.
  • Another embodiment is directed to the at least one antenna being a parasitic element.
  • This parasitic element can be incorporated inside the package or, as an alternative, outside the package.
  • system comprises at least one external antenna.
  • the system can comprise a switch.
  • This switch can be placed outside or on the package.
  • the switch can be used to commute between the at least one (internal) antenna and the at least one external antenna.
  • the switch can be a jumper or a bypass, or any mechanical switch with several positions to select manually a distinct antenna from several available antennas.
  • the switch can also be an electromechanical switch (like a relay), or an electronic switch like a transistor, FET, FLIP-FLOP or the like.
  • the use of a switch to select between the at least one (internal) antenna and the at least one external antenna could be used to implement an antenna diversity system.
  • the technique of antenna diversity consists of providing several antennas to the receiver as a way to protect the receiver from signal fading in the communication channel. The antennas must be arranged so that there is little, or no, correlation between the signals received by each one of them.
  • the at least one antenna is not physically connected to any other component. This might as well apply to the external antenna mentioned above.
  • the at least one antenna could be a balanced or an unbalanced antenna.
  • the at least one antenna can be loaded with discrete reactive components, e.g. capacitors and/or inductors.
  • the antenna can be loaded with external loads.
  • Another embodiment comprises several systems as described above, wherein the antennas are forming a multiple antenna communication system.
  • This multiple antenna communication system can be a multiple-input- multiple-output system, a smart antenna system, a phased array system or a sensor network.
  • Fig.1 shows an embodiment of a package including an antenna and a circuit
  • Fig.2 shows an embodiment of a package including an antenna and a circuit composed by a base band circuit
  • Fig.3 shows an embodiment of a package including a dipole antenna and a radio-frequency circuit together with an additional circuit outside the package;
  • Fig.4 shows an embodiment of a package including a monopole antenna and a circuit, both connected to a matching network outside the package;
  • Fig.5 shows an embodiment of a package including a balanced antenna and a radio-frequency circuit together with an additional circuit outside the package;
  • Fig.6 shows an embodiment of a package including a balanced antenna with a reactive loading
  • Fig.7 shows examples of space filling curves
  • Fig.8 (Fig.8 A to Fig.8D) shows an example of how the grid counting dimension is calculated
  • Fig.9 Fig.9A and Fig.9B shows an example of how the box counting dimension is calculated.
  • Fig.l shows an embodiment of a package 1 including an antenna 100 in an area 101 and a circuit 130. Both, the antenna 100 and the circuit 130 are arranged on a substrate 102. Preferably, there is no ground plane underneath the antenna 100, i.e. the area 101 is free of any conductive material, at least in 50% of the surface above or below area 101. Particularly, the only metal that is placed below or above the antenna pattern are the connectors (such as for instance wire bonds or metal strips).
  • the antenna 100 is a monopole antenna with a single radiating arm comprising seven segments 111 through 117. Preferably, the side length of the rectangular area 101 is the longest operating wavelength for the antenna divided by five.
  • the antenna 100 forms at least two angles such as angle 121 and angle 122 being less than 115°. Although not required, it is preferred that at least two of the angles that are less than 180° are defined in the clock- wise and counter clock- wise directions at the opposite sides of the curve (right side for 121, left for 122).
  • the antenna curve 100 is fed through a connection 105 to a pad on the circuit 130, such a connection including, but not limited to, a wire bond.
  • the circuit 130 preferably is embodied as a radio-frequency circuit (RF circuit).
  • the antenna 100 is connected to the RF circuit 130, transferring the unbalanced signal of the antenna 100 to the RF circuit 130.
  • the RF circuit 130 can be connected to the ground plane of the antenna 100.
  • the RF circuit provides some RF functionality needed in an RF front-end, like e.g. antenna impedance matching, unbalanced-to-balanced transformation, power amplifying, filtering, mixing, frequency conversion, etc.
  • the output connection of the RF circuit 130 as represented in the embodiment can be a balanced device.
  • the RF circuit 130 comprises a connection to a "0" level reference.
  • the output connection of the RF circuit 130 can be unbalanced. In such case the common ground “GND" is an input signal for the RF circuit 130.
  • the RF circuit 130 is connected to the monopole antenna 100 and comprises optional connections to terminals like common ground “GND”, 108 "0", 107 "+” and/or 109 "-".
  • Fig.2 shows an embodiment of a package 2 including the antenna 100 in an area 201 and a radio-frequency circuit (RF circuit) 230 together with a base band component 240 arranged on a substrate 202.
  • RF circuit radio-frequency circuit
  • the antenna 100 has been described in Fig.l above. It comprises seven segments 111 through 117 and forms at least two angles 121 and 122 being less than 115°.
  • the antenna 100 is connected to the RF circuit 230 by a connection 205.
  • the RF circuit 230 and the base band component 240 are connected to the ground connector GND.
  • the base band component 240 is connected to the terminals "+" 207, "0" 208 and "-" 209.
  • the base band component 240 provides at least some of the base band functionality required in the system, like for example conversion from a digital bitstream to a sequence of symbols, symbol acquisition, digital data regeneration, clock recovery, symbol synchronization, automatic gain control, error correction algorithms, data encryption and/or decryption, channel estimation for adaptive detection, analog-to-digital conversion, etc.
  • the RF circuit 230 performs at least some of the RF functionality needed in an RF front-end, like for example antenna impedance matching, balanced-to-unbalanced transformation, power amplifying, filtering, mixing, frequency conversion, etc.
  • Fig.3 shows an embodiment of a package 3 including a dipole antenna 300 and a radio-frequency circuit 330.
  • An external circuit 350 is located outside the package 3.
  • the dipole antenna 300 comprises two radiating arms 303 and 304 and is fed by a differential input/output terminal 305, which is provided by a couple of close connectors such as for instance two wire bonds.
  • Other suitable feeding means could include two conducting strips placed on the same layer as the antenna, the two strips reaching directly or by means of a via hole, the solder balls of a flip- chip, or the pad connection region of a flip-chip connected by means of tape automatic bonding (TAB).
  • TAB tape automatic bonding
  • a substrate 302 can be embodied as a single layer or a multilayer, but in any case it leaves a clearance with no conducting material of at least 50% of the area 301 where the antenna is enclosed, in any of the layers above or below the layer on which the antenna is lying.
  • the antenna 300 is connected to the RF circuit 330, transferring the balanced signal to the RF circuit 330.
  • the RF circuit 330 can be connected to ground.
  • the RF circuit 330 performs at least some of the RF functionality needed in an RF front-end, like for example antenna impedance matching, balanced-to-unbalanced transformation, power amplifying, filtering, mixing, frequency conversion, etc.
  • the output signal 331 of the RF circuit 330 is unbalanced, and afterwards connected to an external circuit 350, which can be an external chip.
  • the output connection 331 of the RF circuit 330 can be balanced.
  • two connections to different pins (two pins instead of one pin 331) of the package, preferably labeled as "+" and "-" are necessary, with the option of the presence of a third pin being the "0" level reference.
  • Fig.4 shows an embodiment of a package 4 including a (unbalanced) monopole antenna 100 (as described in Fig.l) and an RF circuit 430, both connected to an external RF circuit 450, which is located outside the package 4.
  • a substrate 402 can be arranged as a single layer or a multilayer, but in any case it leaves a clearance with no conducting material of at least 50% of the area 401 where the antenna is enclosed, in any of the layers above or below the layer on which the antenna is lying.
  • the antenna 100 and the RF circuit 430 are connected to at least one Input/Output connector (which can be a pin) of the package 4, respectively, i.e. pin 431 for the antenna 100 and pin 432 for the RF circuit 430.
  • An interconnection between the antenna 100 and the RF circuit 430 is provided by the external RF circuit 450, which is preferably another RF (sub-)cifcuit external to the package.
  • the external RF circuit 450 can be a matching network, a bypass or a through- connection.
  • the RF circuit 430 could also be connected to the antenna 100, hence performing at least some RF functionality needed in an RF front-end.
  • the external RF circuit 450 provides additional RF functionality, e.g. it could be a short circuit that establishes direct electrical contact between antenna 100 and RF circuit 430.
  • the output between the RF circuit 430 and the external RF circuit 450 is unbalanced, but it could also be balanced instead.
  • the antenna 100 could be directly connected to the RF circuit 430, which is connected to the external RF circuit 450, which can optionally be a matching network.
  • Fig.5 shows an embodiment of a package 5 including a balanced antenna 300 (as described in Fig.3) and a radio-frequency circuit 530 (RF circuit). An additional circuit 550 is placed outside the package 5.
  • a balanced antenna 300 as described in Fig.3
  • RF circuit radio-frequency circuit
  • a substrate 502 can be arranged as a single layer or a multilayer, but in any case it leaves a clearance with no conducting material of at least 50% of the area 501 where the antenna is enclosed, in any of the layers above or below the layer on which the antenna is lying.
  • Both arms 303 and 304 of the antenna 300 are connected to a respective terminal of the package 5, i.e. arm 303 is connected to terminal 551 and arm 304 is connected to terminal 552. These terminals 551 and 552 of the package 5 are connected to the external circuit 550. Via terminals 531 and 532 the RF circuit 530 of the package 5 is connected to the circuit 550, whereas the RF circuit 530 is further connected to terminals 533 and 534 of the package 5. These terminals 533 and 534 are the input/output connectors to which an external RF front-end (not shown) can be connected.
  • Fig.5 This embodiment is similar to what has been described with Fig.3, but the antenna 100 being balanced.
  • all connections shown in Fig.5 are balanced, although at least some of them could be unbalanced as well.
  • Fig.6 shows an embodiment of a package 6 including a balanced antenna 300 with a reactive loading 610 and 620.
  • the antenna 300 has been described in Fig.3 above.
  • the arm 303 is connected to a load 610 and the arm 304 is connected to a load 620.
  • the antenna 300 is connected via connection 606 (for arm 303) and connection 605 (for arm 304) with an RF circuit 630, which is also attached to the package 6 onto the substrate 602.
  • the RF circuit 630 is connected to a terminal 632 of the package 6 to which also a chip 650 is attached. Furthermore, the RF circuit 630 is connected to a terminal 631.
  • the reactive loads 610 and/or 620 could be place at the beginning of the conductive pattern of the antenna or, alternatively, at the end of it.
  • the loads 610 and/or 620 can be placed to any intermediate point.
  • the reactive loads 610 and/or 620 can be placed outside the package if the necessary connections via terminals of the package 6 are provided.
  • Fig.7 shows examples of space filling curves.
  • Filling curves 701 through 714 are examples of prior art space filling curves for antenna designs.
  • Other types of multiband antennas that also feature a reduced size are multilevel antennas as disclosed in WO 01/22528, which herewith is incorporated by reference.
  • Fig.8 (Fig.8 A to Fig.8D) shows an example of how the grid dimension is calculated.
  • the grid dimension of a curve maybe calculated as follows: A first grid having square cells of length Ll is positioned over the geometry of the curve, such that the grid completely covers the curve. The number of cells (NI) in the first grid that enclose at least a portion of the curve are counted. Next, a second grid having square cells of length L2 is similarly positioned to completely cover the geometry of the curve, and the number of cells (N2) in the second grid that enclose at least a portion of the curve are counted.
  • first and second grids should be positioned within a minimum rectangular area enclosing the curve, such that no entire row or column on the perimeter of one of the grids fails to enclose at least a portion of the curve.
  • the first grid preferably includes at least twenty-five cells, and the second grid preferably includes four times the number of cells as the first grid.
  • the length (L2) of each square cell in the second grid should be one- half the length (Ll) of each square cell in the first grid.
  • grid dimension curve is used to describe a curve geometry having a grid dimension that is greater than one (1).
  • the larger the grid dimension the higher the degree of miniaturization that may be achieved by the grid dimension curve in terms of an antenna operating at a specific frequency or wavelength.
  • a grid dimension curve may, in some cases, also meet the requirements of a space-filling curve, as defined above. Therefore, for the purposes of this application a space-filling curve is one type of grid dimension curve.
  • Fig.8A shows an example two-dimensional antenna 800 forming a grid dimension curve with a grid dimension of approximately two (2).
  • Fig.8B shows the antenna 800 of Fig.8 A enclosed in a first grid 801 having thirty-two (32) square cells, each with a length Ll.
  • Fig.8C shows the same antenna 800 enclosed in a second grid 802 having one hundred twenty-eight (128) square cells, each with a length L2.
  • NI in the above grid dimension (Dg) equation is thirty-two (32) (i.e., the total number of cells in the first grid 801)
  • N2 is one hundred twenty- eight (128) (i.e., the total number of cells in the second grid 802).
  • the grid dimension of the antenna 800 maybe calculated as follows: D _ log(128) -log(32) ⁇ log(2x Ll) - log(Ll)
  • the number of square cells may be increased up to a maximum amount.
  • the maximum number of cells in a grid is dependant upon the resolution of the curve. As the number of cells approaches the maximum, the grid dimension calculation becomes more accurate. If a grid having more than the maximum number of cells is selected, however, then the accuracy of the grid dimension calculation begins to decrease.
  • the maximum number of cells in a grid is one thousand (1000).
  • Fig.8D shows the same antenna 800 enclosed in a third grid 803 with five hundred twelve (512) square cells, each having a length L3.
  • the length (L3) of the cells in the third grid 803 is one half the length (L2) of the cells in the second grid 802, shown in Fig.8C.
  • N for the second grid 802 is one hundred twenty-eight (128).
  • An examination of Fig. ⁇ D, however, reveals that the antenna 800 is enclosed within only five hundred nine (509) of the five hundred twelve (512) cells of the third grid 803. Therefore, the value of N for the third grid 803 is five hundred nine (509).
  • Fig.9 shows an alternative example of how the box counting dimension is calculated.
  • the antenna comprises a conducting pattern, at least a portion of which includes a curve, and the curve comprises at least five segments, each of the at least five segments forming an angle with each adjacent segment in the curve, at least three of the segments being shorter than one-tenth of the longest free-space operating wavelength of the antenna.
  • Each angle between adjacent segments is less than 180° and at least two of the angles between adjacent sections are less than 115°, and wherein at least two of the angles are not equal.
  • the curve fits inside a rectangular area, the longest side of the rectangular area being shorter than one- fifth of the longest free-space operating wavelength of the antenna.
  • the antenna can be fitted in a rectangular area, the longest edge of which is shorter than one-twentieth of the longest free-space operating wavelength of the antenna.
  • the arrangement of the package in terms of layout, antenna and chip arrangement allows the whole package to be smaller than one-twentieth of the free-space operating wavelength.
  • One aspect of the present invention is the box-counting dimension of the curve that forms at least a portion of the antenna.
  • the box-counting dimension is computed in the following way: First a grid with boxes of size Ll is placed over the geometry, such that the grid completely covers the geometry, and the number of boxes NI that include at least a point of the geometry are counted; secondly a grid with boxes of size L2 (L2 being smaller than Ll) is also placed over the geometry, such that the grid completely covers the geometry, and the number of boxes N2 that include at least a point of the geometry are counted again.
  • the box-counting dimension is computed by placing the first and second grids inside the minimum rectangular area enclosing the curve of the antenna and applying the above algorithm.
  • L2 1/2 L and such that the second grid includes at least 10 10 boxes.
  • the minimum rectangular area it will be understood such area wherein there is not an entire row or column on the perimeter of the grid that does not contain any piece of the curve.
  • some of the embodiments of the present invention will feature a box-counting dimension larger than 1.17, and in those applications where the required degree of miniaturization is higher, the designs will feature a box- counting dimension ranging from 1.5 up to 3, inclusive.
  • a curve having a box-counting dimension of about 2 is preferred.
  • the box- counting dimension will be necessarily computed with a finer grid.
  • the first grid will be taken as a mesh of 10 x 10 equal cells
  • the second grid will be taken as a mesh of 20 x 20 equal cells
  • D is computed according to the equation above.
  • One way of enhancing the miniaturization capabilities of the antenna according to the present invention is to arrange the several segments of the curve of the antenna pattern in such a way that the curve intersects at least one point of at least 14 boxes of the first grid with 5 x 5 boxes or cells enclosing the curve. Also, in other embodiments where a high degree of miniaturization is required, the curve crosses at least one of the boxes twice within the 5 x 5 grid, that is, the curve includes two non-adjacent portions inside at least one of the cells or boxes of the grid.
  • FIG.9A and Fig.9B An example of how the box-counting dimension is computed according to the present invention is shown in Fig.9A and Fig.9B.
  • An example of a curve 900 according to the present invention is placed under a 5x5 grid 901 and under a 10x10 grid 902.
  • This example also meets some other characteristic aspects of some preferred embodiments within the present invention.
  • the curve 900 crosses more than 14 of the 25 boxes in grid 901, and also the curve crosses at least one box twice, that is, at least one box contains two non adjacent segments of the curve. In fact, 900 is an example where such a double crossing occurs in 13 boxes out of the 25 in 901.
  • the package arrangements in which the antenna is built on a single layer of a package substrate are very convenient in terms of cost because a single mask can be used for processing the antenna pattern on such a layer.
  • the antenna is arranged in a single layer and fed in one tip of the curve, such that no conductor crossing over the curve is required.
  • a further simplification and cost reduction is achieved by means of those embodiments in the present invention wherein the antenna and the chip are mounted on the same layer of a package substrate.
  • the antenna structure is not limited to a planar structure, because the package can include several portions or parts of the antenna in multiple layers or components of the package.
  • the box-counting algorithm can be computed by means of a three-dimensional grid, using parallelepiped cells instead of rectangular and meshes with 5 x 5 x 5 cells and 10 xlO x 10 or 20 x 20 x 20 cells, respectively. In those cases, such a curve can take a dimension larger than two and in some cases, up to three.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un système comprenant au moins une antenne et un circuit, lequel circuit n'est au moins partiellement pas une puce à semiconducteur. L'antenne et le circuit précités sont agencés sur un boîtier. Dans un autre mode de réalisation, l'invention porte sur un système comprenant au moins une antenne et au moins un circuit, l'antenne et le circuit précités étant agencés sur un boîtier, le circuit possédant une fonctionnalité radiofréquence et, facultativement, bande de base et/ou numérique.
EP04731351A 2004-05-06 2004-05-06 Systeme radiofrequence dans un boitier comprenant une antenne Withdrawn EP1745418A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/EP2004/004851 WO2005109330A1 (fr) 2004-05-06 2004-05-06 Systeme radiofrequence dans un boitier comprenant une antenne

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1745418A1 true EP1745418A1 (fr) 2007-01-24

Family

ID=34957442

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP04731351A Withdrawn EP1745418A1 (fr) 2004-05-06 2004-05-06 Systeme radiofrequence dans un boitier comprenant une antenne

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1745418A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2005109330A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2006008180A1 (fr) 2004-07-23 2006-01-26 Fractus S.A. Antenne dans un boitier a interaction electromagnetique reduite avec des elements integres sur la puce
WO2007147629A1 (fr) 2006-06-23 2007-12-27 Fractus, S.A. Module de puce, carte sim, dispositif sans fil et procédé de communication sans fil
US9103902B2 (en) 2007-05-09 2015-08-11 Infineon Technologies Ag Packaged antenna and method for producing same

Family Cites Families (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5621199A (en) * 1995-04-03 1997-04-15 Datalogic, Inc. RFID reader
JP3373753B2 (ja) * 1997-03-28 2003-02-04 株式会社東芝 超高周波帯無線通信装置
EP0978729A3 (fr) * 1998-08-07 2002-03-20 Hitachi, Ltd. Appareil d'émission-réception à haute fréquence pour applications comme système radar sur véhicule
EP1258054B1 (fr) * 2000-01-19 2005-08-17 Fractus, S.A. Antennes miniatures de remplissage de l'espace
EP1126522A1 (fr) * 2000-02-18 2001-08-22 Alcatel Circuit intégré empaqueté avec antenne radiofréquence
US6335703B1 (en) * 2000-02-29 2002-01-01 Lucent Technologies Inc. Patch antenna with finite ground plane
JP3973402B2 (ja) * 2001-10-25 2007-09-12 株式会社日立製作所 高周波回路モジュール
US7383058B2 (en) * 2002-07-16 2008-06-03 Intel Corporation RF/microwave system with a system on a chip package or the like

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO2005109330A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2005109330A1 (fr) 2005-11-17

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US7791539B2 (en) Radio-frequency system in package including antenna
US11557827B2 (en) Antennaless wireless device
US10734724B2 (en) Antennaless wireless device
KR100981143B1 (ko) 집적회로 안테나 구조체
US8531337B2 (en) Antenna diversity system and slot antenna component
US20080158069A1 (en) Integrated tunable micro-antenna with small electrical dimensions and manufacturing method thereof
EP1810369A1 (fr) Antenne accordable
JP2008259250A (ja) 微小アンテナを含む集積回路パッケージ
CN104081676B (zh) 通信装置
KR20050084978A (ko) 소형 안테나를 포함한 집적 회로 패키지
EP1745418A1 (fr) Systeme radiofrequence dans un boitier comprenant une antenne
WO2009052029A1 (fr) Antennes multicouches compactes et incorporées utilisant un empilement de substrats à faible perte pour des applications à multiples bandes de fréquence
Lu et al. Integrated antenna module for broadband wireless applications
Wu et al. Antennas in silicon integrated circuits
Behdad Single-and dual-polarized miniaturized slot antennas and their applications in on-chip integrated radios

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20061103

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): DE ES FR GB IT

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20070618

DAX Request for extension of the european patent (deleted)
RBV Designated contracting states (corrected)

Designated state(s): DE ES FR GB IT

GRAP Despatch of communication of intention to grant a patent

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNIGR1

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 20090902