Dr Dioxian Liu

Organic Antenna-in-Package Designs for Millimeter Wave Applications

Duixian Liu, Fellow, IEEE

There is an increasing demand for low-cost millimeter-wave (mmWave) systems that operate in the 60, 77 GHz, and recently 28 GHz bands for Gbps data rate communication and imaging applications. Typical applications in the 60 GHz band demanding Gbps data rates include wireless gigabit Ethernet and wireless uncompressed high-definition video. Large available spectrums, short wavelengths, and the ability to operate in dusty and foggy conditions have made mmWave frequencies at 77 and 94 GHz attractive for radar and imaging applications. Significant momentum has started to build around the 5G wireless communication technologies. The objectives for developing 5G cellular networks include higher capacity, higher data rate, lower end-to-end latency, massive device connectivity, reduced cost and consistent Quality of Experience provisioning. For 5G radio access infrastructure such as base stations, a key enabling technology is mmWave beam-forming at 28 GHz; this band has emerged as  one of the main bands being deployed for this new mode of mobile communications.. Many of the above-mentioned mmWave systems require phased arrays.

Recent advances in silicon technologies have enabled single chip solutions, making these technologies more commercially attractive. However, for the mmWave market to flourish, not only are low-cost device solutions required, but also low-cost antenna and packaging solutions. The short wavelength at mmWave frequencies allows antennas to be embedded within a package or integrated on a chip. Antenna-in-package (AiP) solutions have been recognized to have advantages over antenna-on-chip solutions in bandwidth, radiation efficiency, and low cost due to RFIC die area usage and design flexibility. The realization of robust, radiation-efficient, and broadband mmWave antennas within a multilayer organic (MLO) substrate is difficult due to assembly, material selection, and manufacturing tolerance challenges.

When designing mmWave AiP for practical applications, one has to consider trade-offs among antenna performance (such as bandwidth, radiation patterns, gains, coupling between antenna elements for array applications, and port isolation for dual-polarized antennas), integration with RF transceivers, packages size that relates to array size, package substrate properties (such as electrical properties and thermo-mechanical compatibility), flexibility of interconnects (antenna feed line and routine, power suppliers, and signal controls), and package material, manufacture and assembly cost. Therefore, the process requires codesign of AiP, RFIC, application board, and even heat sink for relatively large phased arrays.

This talk will discuss the challenges and some solutions related to AiP designs based on 18 years of mmWave research at IBM. More specifically, the talk will cover three design examples. First, a switched beam AiP design at 60 GHz for mobile devices or a dangle for laptop applications. The antenna beam can be pointed to either the broadside direction or end-fire direction. Second, a 64-element dual-polarized AiP design for 94 GHz imaging and communication applications is discussed. The antenna array design enables the tiling of multiple AiP modules to form larger antenna arrays. Finally, a 64-element dual-polarized AiP design at 28 GHz for 5G applications is presented.

It is expected that these AiP design technologies for mmWave phased-array applications will not only impact mmWave 5G mobile communication systems, but also open new opportunities and advance development for imaging and other adaptive multi-function systems.

Biography:

Duixian Liu received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from XiDian University, Xi’an, China, in 1982, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Ohio State University, Columbus, in 1986 and 1990, respectively.

From 1990 to 1996, he was with Valor Enterprises Inc. Piqua, Ohio, initially as an Electrical Engineer and then as the Chief Engineer, during which time he designed an antenna product line ranging from 3 MHz to 2.4 GHz for the company, a very important factor for the prestigious Presidential “E” Award for Excellence in Exporting in 1994. Since April 1996, he has been with the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, as a Research Staff Member. He has received five IBM’s Outstanding Technical Achievement Awards and one Corporate Award (IBM's official acknowledgement of breakthrough technical achievements that have led to significant market and industry success for the company). He was named Master Inventor in 2007. He was the chief editor for Advanced Millimeter-wave Technologies - Antennas, Packaging and Circuits published by Wiley in 2009, co-editor for Handbook of Antenna Technologies published by Springer in 2016, and editor for Antenna-in-Package Technology and Applications published by Wiley in March 2020. He has authored or coauthored more than 130 journal and conference papers. He received the Best Paper Prize of the 2007 IEEE International Workshop on Antenna Technology for “Antenna-in-package in LTCC for 60 GHz Radio,”  the 2012 S. A. Schelkunoff Prize Paper Award of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society for “Dual Grid Array Antennas in a Thin-Profile Package for Flip-Chip Interconnection to Highly Integrated 60-GHz Radios,”  the 2017 IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits Best Paper Award for “A 28-GHz 32-Element TRX Phased-Array IC With Concurrent Dual-Polarized Operation and Orthogonal Phase and Gain Control for 5G Communications,” and the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society 2020 John Kraus Antenna Award for “pioneering and significant contributions to the development of antenna-in-package (AiP) technology.” He has 132 patents issued. His research interests are antenna design, EM modeling, chip packaging, signal processing, communications technologies, software-defined radios, and quantum computing.

Dr. Liu is a Fellow of IEEE, and was an associate editor for the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (2005-2013), a Guest Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Antennas & Propagation special issues on Antennas and Propagation Aspects of 60-90 GHz Wireless Communications (October 2009), Antennas and Propagation at mm- and sub mm-waves (April 2013),  Antennas and Propagation Aspects of 5G Communications (October 2017), and for the IEEE AWPL for a Special Cluster Antenna-in-Package, Antenna-on-Chip, Antenna-IC Interface: Joint Design and Co-integration Aspects (2019), the Lead Guest Editor for International Journal of Antennas and Propagation on special issues on Wearable and RFID Antennas (July 2013). He has been an organizer or chair for numerous international conference sessions or special sessions and served as a technical program committee member for many international conferences. He was the general chair of the 2006 IEEE International Workshop on Antenna Technology: Small Antennas and Novel Metamaterials, White Plains, New York. He has served as an external Ph.D. examiner for several universities and external examiner for government organizations on research grants. He has been invited to give talks on mmWave and antenna-in-package designs to universities and IEEE local chapters in USA, Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan, India, and China, and organizations such as the FCC Technological Advisory Council (TAC) Antenna Technology Working Group, National Science Foundation and the European Patent Office. He is a distinguished lecturer of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) for the period of 2020-2023.