Abstract
To achieve cost and size reductions, we developed a low cost manufacturing technology for RF substrates and a high performance passive process technology for RF integrated passive devices (IPDs). The fabricated substrate is a conventional 6" Si wafer with a 25${\mu}m$ thick $SiO_2$ surface. This substrate showed a very good insertion loss of 0.03 dB/mm at 4 GHz, including the conductive metal loss, with a 50 ${\Omega}$ coplanar transmission line (W=50${\mu}m$, G=20${\mu}m$). Using benzo cyclo butene (BCB) interlayers and a 10 ${\mu}m$ Cu plating process, we made high Q rectangular and circular spiral inductors on Si that had record maximum quality factors of more than 100. The fabricated inductor library showed a maximum quality factor range of 30-120, depending on geometrical parameters and inductance values of 0.35-35 nH. We also fabricated small RF IPDs on a thick oxide Si substrate for use in handheld phone applications, such as antenna switch modules or front end modules, and high-speed wireless LAN applications. The chip sizes of the wafer-level-packaged RF IPDs and wire-bondable RF IPDs were 1.0-1.5$mm^2$ and 0.8-1.0$mm^2$, respectively. They showed very good insertion loss and RF performances. These substrate and passive process technologies will be widely utilized in hand-held RF modules and systems requiring low cost solutions and strict volumetric efficiencies.