JPH09246461A - High-frequency semiconductor device and semiconductor module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize miniaturization and high performance of a high-frequency semiconductor device and improve the degree of freedom for designing, by mounting first and second semiconductor circuit boards along a crossing plane, and connecting first and second semiconductor circuits by electromagnetic field coupling. SOLUTION: Semiconductor circuits 41a and 41b are arranged in such a manner that a GaAs board 43b is placed along a plane crossing perpendicularly to a GaAs board 43a. Ground layers 47a, 49a are connected with a ground layer 47b. A slit 53 is formed on a circuit coupling portion of the ground layer 47b. Transmission lines 55a, 55b for performing electromagnetic field coupling of the semiconductor circuits 41a, 41b are provided on polyimide layers 45a, 45b. Since shielding by the ground layer 47b is released near the slit 53, the transmission lines 55a, 55b perform electromagnetic field coupling by resonance at distal end portions 55a', 55b'. Thus, the semiconductor circuits 41a and 41b are electrically connected to each other, thereby enabling miniaturization of a high-frequency semiconductor device of high performance.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high frequency semiconductor device, and more particularly to a structure of a semiconductor module used in a microwave band or a millimeter wave band.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, millimeter wave communication systems are being put to practical use at a rapid pace, and miniaturization of millimeter wave band modules is an indispensable technology. Furthermore, in recent years, it has been desired to develop a semiconductor device in accordance with various properties required in consideration of the characteristics of each element. For example, a HEMT / HBT mixed module 1 as shown in FIG. In this module 1, a low noise amplifier chip 3 formed of a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) excellent in noise characteristics and a high output amplifier formed of a heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) having a high driving capability are manufactured. The chip 5 and the chip 5 are arranged and wired on one plane. However, since this module 1 spreads in a plane, there is a limit to miniaturization. Further, since the waveguide 7 as shown in FIG. 1 has to be used for the connection with the antenna, the higher the operating frequency is, the more difficult it is to realize the connection with less loss and high accuracy. This is because it is easily affected by the precision of the machine used to create the waveguide. Therefore, the production cost increases due to the decrease in yield.

A hybrid MIC9 as shown in FIG. 2 has also been proposed (see "Electronics Information Society of Japan Electronics Society Conference 1995" (Preliminary Proceedings), SC-7-8).
In this configuration, the HEMT element chip 11 and the HBT element chip 13 are mounted on the substrate 15. Since the mounting technology has been improved in recent years, the yield of this MIC depends on the manufacturing precision of each element, and the manufacturing cost can be expected to be improved, but there is a limit to miniaturization in such a structure mounted on one plane. .

The MMIC 15 shown in FIG. 3 is a HEMT.
Device 17 and HBT device 19 formed on the same chip (IEEE Transaction on Electron Devices, Volume 42, N
o.4, page 618). However, the manufacturing process of manufacturing different elements on one chip has many problems, and further, like the above-mentioned conventional example, the structure spreads on a plane, and thus there is a limit to miniaturization.

On the other hand, in the semiconductor device 21 shown in FIG. 4, an example in which an antenna 23 is mounted on the same chip (Kazuhiko Honjo,
Yoshihiro Konishi, “Microwave semiconductor circuit” (see Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, page 6), antenna 23, HBT25
And HEMT27 etc. are arrange | positioned on the same plane. Since the antenna needs to have a size corresponding to a half wavelength depending on the frequency used, it is necessary to shorten the distance between the antenna and the circuit element in order to downsize the device. However, if the antenna and the circuit element are brought too close to each other, electromagnetic field coupling occurs, deteriorating the performance of the circuit. Therefore, the structure extending along such a plane is extremely disadvantageous in reducing the size of the device including the antenna, and is difficult to design.

In view of the above situation, a three-dimensional IC29 (refer to "1995 Electronics Society Conference of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (Proceedings), SC-7-3") using a multilayer wiring structure as shown in FIG. Proposed. This IC29
A polyimide layer 33 is formed on a semiconductor substrate 31 on which circuit elements such as FETs and resistors are formed, covered with a ground conductor 35, and a polyimide layer 37 is further formed. Circuits are provided in a plane on the polyimide layer. This 3D IC29
Is for vertically stacking layers in which circuit elements are arranged in parallel,
It is reported that the size of the chip on which the circuit is mounted can be reduced to about 1/3.

[0007]

However, in the structure such as the above-mentioned three-dimensional IC, when the number of layers in which circuit elements are formed is large, the connection wiring between layers becomes complicated, and the layers are complicated. Since the inner connection wiring becomes long, energy loss in the wiring tends to increase. Further, it is difficult to design the connection between layers to be as simple as possible, and the degree of freedom in design is reduced. When stacking multiple layers to increase the height,
If the size of the layer is reduced to a certain extent or less, there is a problem in strength.

Further, when manufacturing a high frequency module having an antenna substrate mounted thereon, since the direction of the antenna substrate is parallel to the module substrate, if it is desired to change the radiation direction of the antenna in a different direction, an array antenna or a Yagi antenna It is necessary to adjust the directivity using such as.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems,
It is an object of the present invention to improve the degree of freedom in device design while promoting miniaturization and high performance of high-frequency semiconductor devices.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, as a result of research on a structure of a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method, as a result, in a structure in which a semiconductor circuit whose substrate direction is different from other semiconductor circuits coexist efficiently The present invention has been completed by finding that various circuit mountings are possible.

In the high frequency semiconductor device of the present invention, the first and second semiconductor circuits are mounted so that the substrate of the first semiconductor circuit is along a plane intersecting with the substrate of the second semiconductor circuit, and the first and second semiconductor circuits are mounted. The first semiconductor circuit and the second semiconductor circuit are connected by electromagnetic field coupling.

Also, in the semiconductor module of the present invention, the first and second semiconductor circuits are mounted so that the substrate of the first semiconductor circuit is along a plane intersecting the substrate of the second semiconductor circuit, A semiconductor module in which the first semiconductor circuit and the second semiconductor circuit are connected by electromagnetic coupling,
A heat dissipation plate extending outward from the semiconductor module is provided.

According to the above structure, a large number of semiconductor circuits are mounted so that the semiconductor circuits are arranged so that the planes along the substrate of the semiconductor circuit intersect with each other, and the overall shape of the semiconductor device spreads in a plane. Can be summarized without. The intersecting semiconductor circuits are connected by electromagnetic field coupling, wiring and connection between the circuits are simplified, and the possibility of changing the circuit design is increased.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a semiconductor device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show a first embodiment of the high frequency semiconductor device of the present invention. This semiconductor device 39 is a combination of two semiconductor circuits 41a and 41b having an inverted microstrip line structure, and the flat semiconductor circuit 41a has a GaAs substrate 43a and a polyimide layer 45a laminated thereon. However, the ground layers 47a and 49a are formed on both surfaces. Similarly, the semiconductor circuit 41b has a GaAs substrate 43b, a polyimide layer 45b, and ground layers 47b and 49b.
5b has a multilayer wiring structure in which the elements 51a and 51b and a wiring layer (not shown) are incorporated.

The semiconductor circuits 41a and 41b are shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the GaAs substrates 43a and 43b are bonded so as to be perpendicular to each other. That is, the GaAs substrate 43b is arranged along a plane perpendicular to the GaAs substrate 43a. The ground layers 47a and 49a are connected to the ground layer 47b, the slit 53 is formed in the circuit coupling portion of the ground layer 47b, and the polyimide layers 45a and 45b are used for electromagnetically coupling the semiconductor circuits 41a and 41b. Transmission lines 55a and 55b are provided. The transmission line 55a extends toward the ground layer 47b in parallel with the GaAs substrate 43a, is bent vertically near the ground layer 47b and is parallel to the ground layer 47b, and the tip 55a 'reaches the vicinity of the slit 53. On the other hand, the transmission line 55b extends parallel to the ground layer 47b, and the tip portion 55b 'is near the slit 53 and the transmission line 55b.
It is wired so as to run backward in parallel with the tip portion 55a 'of a. Length L of the tips 55a 'and 55b' that overlap in parallel
1 is λ / when the wavelength of the operation signal of the semiconductor device 39 is λ /
It is set to be about 4. Since the hindrance by the ground layer 47b can be solved in the vicinity of the slit 53, the transmission lines 55a and 55b are electromagnetically coupled by resonance at the tip portions 55a ′ and 55b ′, and the semiconductor circuits 41a and 41b.
And are electrically connected to. In this example, the transmission lines 55a and 55b are open ends, but can be applied to any coupling type in the electromagnetic coupling of the 4-port transmission line,
It can be changed as appropriate.

In the first embodiment described above, the semiconductor circuit 41b is used.
When the ground layer 47b is manufactured, the ground layer 47b is formed in advance so as to have the slits 53, and the semiconductor circuit 41
It is easily made by vertically coupling a.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a second embodiment of the high frequency semiconductor device of the present invention. In this semiconductor device 57, the semiconductor circuit 59a having a reverse microstrip line structure is replaced with the semiconductor circuit 5 having a microstrip line structure.
9b, the semiconductor circuit 59a has a GaAs substrate 61a and a polyimide layer 63a laminated on the GaAs substrate 61a, and ground layers 65a and 67a are formed on both surfaces thereof. The semiconductor circuit 59b has a GaAs substrate 61b, a polyimide layer 63b, and a ground layer 65b.
3a and 63b have a multilayer wiring structure in which the elements 69a and 69b and a wiring layer (not shown) are incorporated.

In the semiconductor circuit 59a, as shown in FIG. 7A, the GaAs substrates 61a and 61b are arranged vertically.
Ground layer 65b of semiconductor circuit 59b and GaAs substrate 61
b, the ground layers 65a, 6
7a is connected to the ground layer 65b. The polyimide layers 63a and 63b are provided with transmission lines 71a and 71b for electromagnetically coupling the semiconductor circuits 59a and 59b. The transmission line 71a extends in parallel with the GaAs substrate 61a, crosses over the ground layer 47b, is bent vertically near the end of the semiconductor circuit 59a, and is arranged in parallel with the ground layer 65b.

On the other hand, the transmission line 71b has a ground layer 65.
b, the tip portion 71b 'extends parallel to the transmission line 71a.
The wire is wired so as to run in the reverse direction in parallel with the front end portion 71a 'of.
Length L2 of the tip portions 71a 'and 71b' that overlap each other
Is λ / 4 when the wavelength of the operation signal of the semiconductor device 39 is λ.
It is set to be about.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the transmission line 71a
Since there is no disturbing ground layer between the semiconductor circuits 59a and 71b, the transmission lines 71a and 71b are electromagnetically coupled by resonance at the tips 71a 'and 71b'.
9b is electrically connected. In this example as well, it goes without saying that the transmission lines 71a and 71b can be applied to any of the coupling types in the electromagnetic coupling of the 4-port transmission line.

In the second embodiment described above, the semiconductor circuit 59b is used.
The GaAs substrate 61b and the ground layer 65b are easily manufactured by forming the semiconductor circuit 59a to have a groove having the same width as the thickness of the semiconductor circuit 59a, and then vertically inserting and coupling the semiconductor circuit 59a.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show a third embodiment of the high frequency semiconductor device of the present invention. This semiconductor device 73 includes a front end circuit 75 and an antenna chip 77.
The front end circuit 75 is a combination of GaAs and
It has a substrate 79 and a polyimide layer 81 laminated on it, and ground layers 83 and 85 are formed on both surfaces. The antenna chip 77 includes an antenna substrate 87 made of GaAs, aluminum nitride, quartz, etc., and ground layers 89, 9
1 and a polyimide layer 93, the polyimide layer 81 is
The device 95 and the wiring layer (not shown) are incorporated into a multilayer wiring structure.

As shown in the figure, the front-end circuit 75 is fitted in a hole formed in the ground layer 89 of the antenna chip 77 and the antenna substrate 87 so that the GaAs substrate 79 and the antenna substrate 87 are perpendicular to each other. , Ground layer 8
3, 85 are connected to the ground layers 89, 91. The polyimide layer 81 is provided with a transmission line 97 for electromagnetically coupling the front end circuit 75 and the antenna chip 77. On the other hand, the patch antenna 99 is attached on the polyimide layer 93 of the antenna chip 77, and the transmission line 97
Extends toward the patch antenna 99 in parallel with the GaAs substrate 79 and crosses the ground layer 89, and the front end circuit 7
It is bent vertically near the end of 5 and is wired so that the end 97 ′ is parallel to the patch antenna 99. Ground layer 9
1 is the end portion 97 ′ of the transmission line 97 and the patch antenna 99.
A rectangular feeding slot 101 is formed at a position between the two, and the slot 101 can solve the problem of the ground layer 91. Therefore, the end portion 97 ′ of the transmission line 97 and the patch antenna 99 are electromagnetically coupled by resonance, and the front end. The circuit 75 and the antenna chip 77 are electrically connected.

In this embodiment, the patch antenna 99
Is set such that when the wavelength of the operation signal of the semiconductor device 73 is λ, the length L3 along the direction parallel to the end 97 ′ of the transmission line 97 is about λ / 2.

Like the second embodiment, in the above-described third embodiment, a cross section of the front end circuit 75 (a cross section perpendicular to the fitting direction) is produced when the antenna substrate 87 of the antenna chip 77 and the ground layer 89 are manufactured. It can be easily manufactured by forming a hole having the same size as that of, and vertically inserting and connecting the front end circuit 75.

Although a patch antenna is used in this embodiment, it can be applied to other antennas such as a slot antenna.

9 and 10 show a fourth embodiment of the high frequency semiconductor device of the present invention. This semiconductor device is a high frequency transmission / reception module 103, which includes a reception circuit unit 105, a basic oscillation circuit unit 107, a transmission circuit unit 109, and a low noise amplifier 11.
1 and a high output amplifier 113, and a quadrature demodulator is used in the reception circuit section and a quadrature modulator is used in the transmission circuit section. The receiving circuit unit 105, the basic oscillating circuit unit 107, and the transmitting circuit unit 109 are laminated through heat radiating plates 115 and 117 formed of an insulating material such as aluminum nitride, and the heat radiating plates 115 and 117 are laminated respectively. Receiver circuit section 10
5. It extends long outside the basic oscillation circuit unit 107 and the transmission circuit unit 109. The substrates of the low noise amplifier 111 and the high output amplifier 113 are the receiving circuit unit 105 and the basic oscillation circuit unit 10.
7, the low noise amplifier 111 and the high power amplifier 113 are coupled to the receiving circuit unit 105 and the transmitting circuit unit 109, respectively, so as to be perpendicular to the substrate of the transmission circuit unit 109. The low-noise amplifier 111 includes a receiving antenna, and the high-power amplifier 11
3 is equipped with a transmitting antenna, and the basic transmitting circuit 107
Is configured for both transmission and reception. Low noise amplifier 11
1 and the high-power amplifier 113, a heat sink 119 is interposed, and the heat sink 119 also serves to block the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna.

The receiving circuit section 105, the transmitting circuit section 109, the low noise amplifier 111 and the high output amplifier 113 are formed as a chip having a multilayer wiring structure and a ground layer formed on both sides thereof, as shown in FIG. By mounting, ground layers 121a, 121b, 121c, 121d, 1
21e, 121f, and 121g are connected, and the combined parts are blocked from each other. .

The connection between the low noise amplifier 111 and the receiving circuit section 105 and the connection between the high output amplifier 113 and the transmitting circuit section 109 are made by the electromagnetic field coupling similar to that of the first embodiment described above. 105 and basic oscillation circuit section 107
Connection with the basic oscillation circuit unit 107 and the transmission circuit unit 109
The connection with is made by an electrical connection through a via hole. The heat sinks 115, 117, and 119 radiate heat at the extended portions of the combined chips, and the module 1
Air cool 03. The size of the entire module can be adjusted by adjusting the thickness of these heat sinks.

Wirings 123 are formed on the heat radiating plates 115 and 117 of the high frequency transmitting / receiving module 103 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, a mother board 125 provided with a baseband signal processing unit formed of a silicon device.
By inserting the heat dissipation plates 115 and 117 of the module 103 of FIG.
5 is electrically connected to the baseband signal processing unit via the wiring 127. In this case, the heat sinks 115 and 117 are
It is used as an insertion pin for mounting the module 103 on the motherboard 125. With this configuration,
The antenna for exchanging wireless signals is arranged on the upper part of the module, and the module 103 and the baseband signal processing unit can be easily connected.

With the configuration shown in FIG. 9, the volume of the module can be reduced to about 1/5 of that of the conventional planar mounting type module, which is effective for downsizing of the module.

The configuration shown in FIG. 10 can be applied to a wireless LAN compatible computer as shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, a mother board 129 having a baseband signal processing circuit is provided on a keyboard 131 of a personal computer, and by mounting the high frequency transmitting / receiving module 103 of FIG. 9 on the mother board 129, a base unit of this personal computer. It is possible to send and receive wirelessly with

The low noise amplifier 111 and the high output amplifier 113 in the high frequency transmitting / receiving module 103 of FIG.
Each is a chip in which an antenna section and an amplification section are integrated, but these amplification sections are separated into the reception circuit section 105.
Alternatively, the antenna may be mounted in parallel with the transmission circuit unit 109, only the antenna unit may be configured vertically with respect to the other, and may be connected by electromagnetic coupling.
Alternatively, each amplification unit may be integrated with the reception circuit unit 105 or the transmission circuit unit 109 to form one chip. The basic oscillator circuit section 10 of the high frequency transmitting / receiving module 103 of FIG.
When it is necessary to take out the signal lines on both sides of the chip as in the case of 7, the chip having the circuits formed on both sides of the substrate is used to facilitate the connection with the chips stacked on both sides.

The configuration like the module of FIG. 9 can be applied to various circuits and modules as well as the transmitting / receiving module. For example, if the basic oscillation circuit section of the module of FIG. 9 is changed to a bias circuit section, the circuit can be further downsized. Further, a cavity may be formed by forming a space surrounded by a metal wall, or a baseband signal processing section may be additionally provided.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the circuit boards are connected so as to be perpendicular to each other. However, if necessary, the circuit boards may be connected by inclining so that the angle between the boards becomes a predetermined angle other than vertical. Is also possible. Also in this case, the transmission lines and the like are arranged so that the circuits are connected to each other by electromagnetic field coupling as described in the embodiment.

[0037]

As a high-performance high-frequency semiconductor device can be miniaturized and the degree of freedom in semiconductor device design is improved, the high-frequency semiconductor device can be used in a wider range and is highly useful in industry.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a first example of a conventional high frequency semiconductor module.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a second example of a conventional high-frequency semiconductor module.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of a third example of a conventional high-frequency semiconductor module.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part showing a fourth example of a conventional high-frequency semiconductor module.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of essential parts showing a fifth example of a conventional high-frequency semiconductor module.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a high-frequency semiconductor device according to the present invention, FIG. 6A being a B- of FIG. 6B.
FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B ′ of FIG. 6A, and FIG.
FIG.

7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the high-frequency semiconductor device according to the present invention, FIG. 7 (a) being a D- line in FIG. 7 (b).
FIG. 7B is a sectional view taken along the line D ′ of FIG.
FIG.

8A and 8B are schematic configuration diagrams showing a third embodiment of the high-frequency semiconductor device according to the present invention, FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the high-frequency semiconductor device, and FIG. 8B is a longitudinal sectional view.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a high-frequency transceiver module that is a fourth embodiment of the high-frequency semiconductor device according to the present invention.

10 is a perspective view showing how the high frequency transmitting / receiving module of FIG. 9 is mounted on a motherboard.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an application of the high-frequency transmitting / receiving module of FIG. 9 to transmission / reception in a computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

39, 57, 73 semiconductor device 41a, 41b, 59a, 59b semiconductor circuit 43a, 43b, 61a, 61b, 79 GaAs substrate 45a, 45b, 63a, 63b, 81, 93 polyimide layer 47a, 47b, 49a, 49b, 65a, 67a, 8
3, 85, 89, 91121a to g Ground layer 51a, 51b, 69a, 69b, 95 Element 53 Slit 55a, 55b, 71a, 71b, 97 Transmission line 75 Front end circuit 77 Antenna chip 87 Antenna substrate 99 Patch antenna 101 Slot 103 High frequency transmission / reception module 105 Reception circuit unit 107 Basic oscillation circuit unit 109 Transmission circuit unit 111 Low noise amplifier 113 High output amplifier 115, 117, 119 Heat sink 123, 127 Wiring 125, 129 Motherboard

Front page continued (72) Inventor Masayuki Saito 33 Shinisogo-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Ltd.In Toshiba Industrial Research Institute (72) Inventor Hiroshi Yamada 33 Shinisogo-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Production Engineering Laboratory (72) Inventor Soichi Honma 1 Komukai Toshiba-cho, Kouki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Toshiba Research & Development Center

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. The first and second semiconductor circuits are mounted so that the substrate of the first semiconductor circuit is along a plane intersecting with the substrate of the second semiconductor circuit, and the first semiconductor circuit and the first semiconductor circuit are mounted. A high-frequency semiconductor device, which is connected to the second semiconductor circuit by electromagnetic field coupling. 2. The first and second semiconductor circuits are mounted so that the substrate of the first semiconductor circuit is along a plane intersecting with the substrate of the second semiconductor circuit, and the first semiconductor circuit and the first semiconductor circuit are mounted. The second semiconductor circuit is a semiconductor module connected by electromagnetic field coupling, and is provided with a heat dissipation plate extending outward from the semiconductor module.