A Plastic Encapsulated MIC 17 GHz Mixer

This paper describes some work on MIC plastic encapsulation using transfer moulding techniques. After the establishment of a suitable coaxial to microstrip transition the studies progressed through the encapsulation of a series of hybrid microstrip circuits for use at J(Ku) band frequencies. The final result was the realisation of a balanced mixer for use at about 17 GHz in an encapsulation of injection moulded plastic, comparable in microwave performance to its more conventionally metal encapsulated counterparts.