A 16-element transmit/receive Q-band electronically steerable subarray tile

We report on a 44-GHz Transceiver Array architecture that integrates all required functionality for rf beamforming and radiation using a single 16-channel Silicon-Germanium rf beamforming integrated circuit, a 4×4 array of wide-scan patch antennas, and a compact, rugged, micromachined three-dimensional structure for rf and dc interconnect and thermal management. The subarray tile is fabricated using a wafer-scale millimeter-wave system and circuit integration method we call BATCH that has been developed to allow the embedding of one or more semiconductor dice having varied function and material into a compact chip-scale module. This circuit integration technology includes low loss planar transmission line interconnects and patch antennas with planar feeds, all embedded in a micromachined silicon interposer and suitable for high-volume batch fabrication.