Beam-angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna

Abstract

This invention provides a silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beamwidth, comprising a beamwidth adjustment structure, an antenna substrate and a dielectric resonator, an excitation antenna, and solder bumps. The multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator are arranged sequentially from top to bottom, with an air cavity formed in the middle. The excitation antenna is located at the bottom of the air cavity. The beamwidth adjustment structure is located on top of the top layer of the antenna substrate and dielectric resonator. A through-silicon via (TSV) is located in the middle of the bottom layer of the antenna substrate and dielectric resonator, with solder bumps located at the bottom of the TSV. This invention significantly reduces the antenna size and improves its radiation efficiency by using high-resistivity silicon as the antenna dielectric. By introducing an air cavity structure and adjusting the beamwidth through the top-layer beamwidth adjustment structure, the antenna application frequency can be changed according to usage, the feeding method can be modified and optimized according to application conditions, and it can be stacked with chips to achieve three-dimensional heterogeneous high-density integration.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of microwave antennas, in particular to a silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beam angle. BACKGROUND

[0002] Electronic information systems are developing towards high-density integration and integration, requiring high informationization and intelligence, and having higher application efficiency. The millimeter wave band has abundant spectrum and bandwidth resources, and accordingly, the millimeter wave antenna needs large bandwidth and high gain. The size of the antenna and components in the millimeter wave band is generally smaller, and more active / passive components and antenna units can be accommodated in the same space, while the processing precision is also relatively high.

[0003] The existing Chinese patent with the publication number CN106299645A discloses a chip-on antenna based on silicon technology, which comprises a dielectric resonant block, a metal patch, a silicon dioxide layer, a metal ground and a silicon substrate layer. The metal ground is covered on the silicon substrate layer, the silicon dioxide layer is covered on the metal ground, the metal patch is arranged on the upper surface of the silicon dioxide layer, the tail section of the metal patch is a circular metal patch, and the dielectric resonant block is arranged above the silicon dioxide layer and covers at least two-thirds of the area of the circular metal patch.

[0004] The inventor believes that the traditional millimeter wave transceiver front end adopts a scheme of building with discrete modules, which has the disadvantages of large volume and large link loss. By using a silicon-based packaged antenna, the interconnection distance between the chip and the antenna can be shortened, and three-dimensional high-density stacking of radio frequency circuits in the z-axis direction can be realized. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beam angle, which can change the antenna application frequency according to use, the structure parameters are adjustable, the feeding mode can be changed and optimized according to the use condition, the chip can be stacked to realize three-dimensional heterogeneous high-density integration. SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the defects in the prior art, the purpose of the present application is to provide a silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beam angle.

[0006] According to the silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beam angle provided by the present application, the beam width adjusting structure, the antenna substrate and the dielectric resonator, the excitation antenna and the stud bumping ball are included. The antenna substrate and the dielectric resonator are arranged in multiple layers from top to bottom, and an air cavity is formed in the middle. The bottom of the air cavity is provided with the excitation antenna. The top of the antenna substrate and the dielectric resonator at the topmost layer is provided with the beam width adjusting structure. The middle of the antenna substrate and the dielectric resonator at the bottommost layer is provided with a through silicon via, and the stud bumping ball is arranged at the bottom end of the through silicon via.

[0007] Preferably, the multi-layer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator comprise silicon wafers of the same or different thicknesses.

[0008] Preferably, the multi-layer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator, the beam width adjustment structure, the through silicon via and the solder ball are coaxially arranged.

[0009] Preferably, the beam width adjustment structure comprises a cross-shaped metal patch.

[0010] Preferably, the excitation antenna comprises a stepped patch antenna.

[0011] Preferably, the multi-layer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator are connected by a bonding structure.

[0012] Preferably, the beam width adjustment structure and the excitation antenna are both made by an electroplating process.

[0013] Preferably, the air cavity is made on the antenna substrate and dielectric resonator by a MEMS etching process.

[0014] Preferably, the through silicon via adopts a damascene through silicon via copper process, and the through silicon via is filled with copper.

[0015] Preferably, the manufacturing process of the solder ball comprises electroplating and ball planting.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0017] 1. By using high-resistance silicon as the dielectric of the antenna, the present application can greatly reduce the size of the antenna and improve the radiation efficiency of the antenna by using the high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss of the high-resistance silicon; by introducing an air cavity structure, the present application can expand the bandwidth of the antenna and improve the gain of the antenna; by adjusting the beam width of the antenna through the top beam width adjustment structure, the present application can change the application frequency of the antenna according to the use, optimize the feeding mode according to the use, stack with chips, and realize three-dimensional heterogeneous high-density integration.

[0018] 2. By using high-resistivity silicon wafers for the antenna substrate and dielectric resonator and processing and manufacturing by a silicon-based MEMS process, the present application can help to realize high-precision processing of three-dimensional complex structures, ensure the reliability and high performance of the antenna, and realize a small size and low profile while the antenna has a wide gain and impedance bandwidth.

[0019] 3、The application realizes the effects of wide frequency band and high gain by introducing the air cavity structure, the size of the air cavity structure is continuously adjustable, and is suitable for different frequencies; the feeding is carried out by using the through silicon via process, the vertical transmission of the radio frequency signal can be realized through the highly integrated three-dimensional vertical through silicon via, which is beneficial to realize the three-dimensional stacked integration of the system; the chip is connected with the convex soldering ball, the electrical interconnection distance from the chip to the antenna is reduced, and the application has the technical advantages of light weight, high integration and the like. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] Other features, objects and advantages of the present application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments thereof, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 A sectional view of a beam angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna is mainly embodied in the present application;

[0022] Figure 2 A structural schematic view of a beam angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna is mainly embodied in the present application;

[0023] Figure 3 A result graph mainly embodying the bandwidth performance of a case antenna is mainly embodied in the present application;

[0024] Figure 4 A result graph mainly embodying the performance of a case antenna is mainly embodied in the present application;

[0025] Figure 5 A schematic view mainly embodying the effect of different air cavity heights is mainly embodied in the present application;

[0026] Figure 6 A schematic view mainly embodying the effect of different air cavity heights is mainly embodied in the present application;

[0027] Figure 7 An effect schematic view mainly embodying the beam width adjustment function is mainly embodied in the present application.

[0028] Shown in the figure:

[0029] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments. The following embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present application, but do not limit the present application in any form. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present application. These all belong to the protection scope of the present application.

[0031] As Figures 1-2As shown, the beam angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna provided by the application comprises a beam width adjusting structure 1, an antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2, an excitation antenna 5 and a solder bump 7. The multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2 are sequentially arranged from top to bottom, and an air cavity 3 is formed in the middle. The bottom of the air cavity 3 is provided with the excitation antenna 5. The top of the antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2 at the topmost layer is provided with the beam width adjusting structure 1. The middle of the antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2 at the bottommost layer is provided with a through silicon via 6, and the solder bump 7 is arranged at the bottom end of the through silicon via 6.

[0032] The multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2 comprise high-resistivity silicon substrates with the same or different thicknesses. Generally, the beam angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna comprises two or three layers of antenna substrates and dielectric resonators 2. Each layer is processed by a separate process and can be bonded together using a wafer-level bonding process. The beam angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna of the application uses a high-resistivity silicon wafer as a substrate, loads a beam width adjusting structure 1 at the top to adjust the beam width. The air cavity 3 structure is inserted between the multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2, which expands the bandwidth of the antenna and improves the gain of the antenna. The excitation antenna 5 is fed through the through silicon via 6, which can be connected vertically to the chip through the solder bump 7. All structures of the antenna are made of standard silicon processes. In this embodiment, the multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2, the beam width adjusting structure 1, the through silicon via 6 and the solder bump 7 are arranged on the same central axis. In actual use, the positions can be adjusted according to actual conditions.

[0033] The antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2 use high-resistivity silicon wafers, which are processed and made by MEMS technology, have high processing precision, and have a wide gain and impedance bandwidth. At the same time, the antenna realizes the effects of small size and low profile.

[0034] The multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2 are connected by a bonding structure 4, which is also an alignment mark. The bonding method has many ways, including wafer bonding, manual bonding, etc. This embodiment takes two layers of antenna substrates and dielectric resonators 2 as an example. The antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2 are designed with high-resistance silicon, and the middle is integrated by a metal bonding method.

[0035] The air cavity 3 is processed on the antenna substrate and the dielectric resonator 2 by a MEMS etching process. The beam angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna introduces an air layer by using the air cavity 3, increases discontinuity, and thus improves the gain and expands the bandwidth of the antenna. The air cavity 3 is realized by a dry etching process, and the height and size are continuously adjustable. Increasing the height of the air cavity 3 can expand the bandwidth and improve the gain of the antenna. The actual height can be controlled by the dry etching process. The higher the height of the air cavity 3, the higher the bandwidth and gain, but at the same time, the profile height is also increased, so it needs to be adjusted according to the requirements.

[0036] The embodiment is two-layer bonding, which can be dry etched on the antenna substrate and the dielectric resonator 2. If it is three-layer bonding, a part of the middle layer can be hollowed out to form the air cavity 3. If the frequency is too low, the corresponding thickness of the antenna is too high, more layers can be bonded together. By introducing the air cavity 3 structure in the middle of the antenna, the effects of wide frequency band and high gain are realized, and the size of the air cavity 3 structure is continuously adjustable, which is suitable for different frequencies.

[0037] The beam width adjustment structure 1 includes a cross-shaped metal patch for adjusting the beam width of the antenna to realize a wider scanning range of the array antenna. The beam width of the antenna is adjusted by adjusting the size parameters of the cross-shaped metal patch, i.e. the length of the cross-shaped structure, to obtain a wider beam scanning range of the array antenna. The cross-shaped structure can adjust the beam width of the E-plane (electric plane) and the H-plane (magnetic plane) of the antenna respectively. In the embodiment, the beam width adjustment structure 1 is located at the center, and when it is not at the center, it will also affect the beam width of the antenna and change the beam pointing direction, which can be adjusted according to the actual situation. Compared with other methods such as increasing a three-dimensional metal fence and adding dielectric blocks with high dielectric constant on both sides of the antenna, the method has low cost, is easy to implement, and the beam width is continuously adjustable.

[0038] The excitation antenna 5 includes a stepped patch antenna for expanding the impedance bandwidth of the antenna, and each stepped length and width is used to adjust the impedance matching at different frequencies of the antenna.

[0039] The beam width adjustment structure 1 and the excitation antenna 5 are both made by electroplating process, which has small processing error.

[0040] The through silicon via 6 adopts a damascene through silicon via copper process, the hole of the through silicon via 6 is filled with dense copper, and the aspect ratio of the through silicon via 6 has continuous adjustability. The three-dimensional vertical through silicon via 6 is used for vertical transmission of radio frequency signals. The through silicon via 6 process is used for feeding, and the three-dimensional vertical through silicon via 6 with high integration can realize vertical transmission of radio frequency signals and is conducive to realizing three-dimensional stacked integration of the system.

[0041] The fabrication process of the bumped solder balls 7 interconnecting with the chip includes, but is not limited to, electroplating and ball placement. The chip is connected to the through-silicon via 6 via the bumped solder balls 7, and the signal is transmitted to the excitation antenna 5, and then radiated into the air through the antenna substrate and the dielectric resonator 2. Connecting the chip with the bumped solder balls 7 reduces the electrical interconnection distance from the chip to the antenna, and has technical advantages such as light weight and high integration.

[0042] The antenna substrate and dielectric resonator 2 are made of high-resistivity silicon wafers, and are fabricated using MEMS technology to achieve high-precision manufacturing and miniaturization of the antenna. The introduction of an air cavity 3 improves the antenna gain and expands its bandwidth. A beamwidth adjustment structure 1 is designed on the top layer of the antenna to adjust the antenna beamwidth, enabling wide-beam-angle scanning of the array. The excitation antenna 5 is fed through a through-silicon via (TSV) 6, and the chip is further electrically connected to the TSV 6 of the antenna via bump solder balls 7, achieving a three-dimensional high-density stacking of the RF circuitry.

[0043] This application utilizes silicon-based MEMS technology to achieve high-precision fabrication of complex three-dimensional structures, ensuring the reliability and high performance of the antenna. High-resistivity silicon is used as the antenna dielectric, leveraging its high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss to significantly reduce antenna size and improve radiation efficiency. The introduction of an air cavity 3 structure expands the antenna bandwidth and improves its gain. The antenna beamwidth can also be adjusted according to application requirements using the top-layer beamwidth adjustment structure 1.

[0044] The antenna application frequency of this application can be changed according to the use, the structural parameters are adjustable, the feeding method can be changed and optimized according to the use, and it can be stacked with chips to achieve three-dimensional heterogeneous high-density integration.

[0045] like Figures 3-6 As shown, this application provides a specific application example in the Ka band, where the antenna's impedance bandwidth and 1dB gain bandwidth are both greater than 35%, and the antenna's beamwidth can be adjusted according to requirements.

[0046] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0047] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the essence of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. A silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beam angle, characterized in that, include: Beamwidth adjustment structure (1), antenna substrate and dielectric resonator (2), excitation antenna (5) and bump solder ball (7); The multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator (2) are arranged sequentially from top to bottom, and an air cavity (3) is formed in the middle. The excitation antenna (5) is arranged at the bottom of the air cavity (3). The excitation antenna (5) includes a stepped patch antenna. The beamwidth adjustment structure (1) is provided on top of the antenna substrate and dielectric resonator (2) at the top layer. The beamwidth adjustment structure (1) includes a cross-shaped metal patch. A through-silicon via (6) is provided in the middle of the antenna substrate and dielectric resonator (2) at the bottom layer, and the bump solder ball (7) is provided at the bottom end of the through-silicon via (6).

2. The beam-angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator (2) comprise silicon wafers of the same or different thicknesses.

3. The silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beam angle as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator (2), the beamwidth adjustment structure (1), the through silicon via (6) and the bump solder ball (7) are arranged on the same central axis.

4. The silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beam angle as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The multilayer antenna substrate and dielectric resonator (2) are connected by a bonding structure (4).

5. The silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beam angle as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Both the beamwidth adjustment structure (1) and the excitation antenna (5) are made by electroplating.

6. The beam-angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The air cavity (3) is fabricated on the antenna substrate and dielectric resonator (2) by MEMS etching process.

7. The beam-angle adjustable silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The through-silicon via (6) is made using the Damascus through-silicon via copper process, and the through-silicon via (6) is filled with copper.

8. The silicon-based dielectric resonant antenna with adjustable beam angle as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The manufacturing process of the raised solder balls (7) includes electroplating and ball implantation.

Images