Abstract:
Owing to the advantages of high integration, high precision and high reliability, the integrated passive device (IPD) has great application potential in radio frequency (RF) microsystem field. However, the fabrication process of multi-layer thin film circuit and high accuracy resistor is the key restriction for wide application of IPD. In this paper a millimeter-wave Wilkinson stripline power divider/combiner is designed and fabricated based on IPD technique. A multi-layer film structure with 2 layers of BCB (benzocyclobutene) dielectric film and 3 layers of metallization film is realized by multi-layer thin film technology in fabrication process. The minimum line width and line space are both 20 μm. The sheet resistances of TaN film integrated on the surface of BCB dielectric film using magnetron sputtering method are 50 Ω/□ and 100 Ω/□. This power divider network operating at 30~40 GHz has a return loss of-15 dB and an insertion loss of (4.6 ± 0.2) dB. This research makes a breakthrough in high-density multi-layer thin film manufacturing. A power divider prototype is fabricated and tested. This research provides an effective solution for passive network integration in RF microsystems.