Low Cost Packages for Micro- and Millimeterwave Circuits

The paper summarizes the state of the art of ceramic and metal pacjages for planar micro- and millimeterwave circuits. Typical examples are shown. Criteria for cost reduction and high volume production capability are discussed. Recent results of research on package fabrication by injection moulding are reported. Internal electrical connection techniques: Wire and Ribbon Bonding, Tape Automated Bonding, Flip-Chip Mounting, Impedance-Controlled Thinfilm, Field- and Radiation-Coupling are addressed including the interdepndence with package design. Recent developments striving to matter the high millimeterwave range in a production environment are described. Hermetical feedthrough designs and their frequency limits ae discussed.