Antenna and Package Design for 61- and 122-GHz Radar Sensors in Embedded Wafer-Level Ball Grid Array Technology

Journal
IEEE transactions on microwave theory and techniques / Symposium issue  
Volume
66
Issue
12
Start Page
5156
End Page
5168
Article Number
8515104
Citation
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 12 (66): 8515104 (2018-12-01)
Publisher DOI
10.1109/TMTT.2018.2873368
This paper suggests the usage of an optimized structure of the embedded wafer-level ball grid array technology for millimeter-wave antennas-in-package. Multiple antenna arrays in a second redistribution layer have been designed, evaluated, and integrated with different transceivers to form very compact sensor packages for 61- and 122-GHz radar applications. The resulting packages contain a complete radar front end while featuring dimensions of 8 mm × 8 mm. The packages are easy to assemble and replaceable. Theoretical considerations, numerical results, and measurements have been carried out for the single components. For the verification of the sensor packages, a system demonstrator was developed, and measurements have been performed in continuous-wave mode. At both frequencies, promising system performance regarding range and distance errors could be confirmed without the usage of complex processing and calibration algorithms.
Subjects
Antenna arrays
embedded wafer-level ball grid array (eWLB)
microwave sensors
millimeter-wave radar
packaging
radar systems