An Overall Ltcc Package Solution for X-Band Tile T/R Module

An overall Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) package solution for X-band T/R module has been presented in this paper. This tile type package contributes to a dramatic reduction in size and weight of the T/R module. Moreover, an obvious merit of ceramic housing is better consistency of Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE), compared with the traditional combination of ceramic board and metal housing. The schematic diagram and 3-D structure of the T/R module have been presented and a novel vertical interconnection based on Ball Grid Array (BGA) has been proposed to connect vias in the lid and those in the stage of the main LTCC pan. The LTCC T/R module has been fabricated and measured. It is compact in size (20×20× 2.6 mm) and has a weight of 3.5 g. The measured transmit output power is 33±1 dBm in the frequency range from 8.8 GHz to 10.4 GHz, and the measured receive gain and Noise Figure are 29-30.5 dB and 2.6-2.8 dB, respectively.