Leakage, Crosstalk and Package Effects in Millimeter-Wave Integrated Circuits

Spurious effects in millimeter-wave packages can include crosstalk, power loss or ripples along the line, and coupling between lines. The mechanisms causing these effects can be the excitation of surface waves or parallel-plate substrate modes, or wave leakage from the dominant mode on the circuit´s transmission lines, or the presence of additional modes on these lines. The talk will discuss all of these mechanisms, but will focus on wave leakage because the results are newer and also less well known. The focus in this talk, however, is on what types of changes can arise when these lines are placed in a package. It is important to note that the effects due to the presence of the top cover are quite different from those due to the side walls.