Integrated Circuit with Antenna for Dielectric Waveguide

• US 20140287703A1
• Filed: 04/02/2013
• Published: 09/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Herbsommer, Juan Alejandro, Schuppener, Gerd, Payne, Robert Floyd
• Granted Patent: US 9,300,025 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/90.2
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4416 Heterogeneous cables
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/6677 for antenna, e.g. antenna included within housing of semiconductor device
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16227 the bump connector connecting to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/73204 the bump connector being embedded into the layer connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/15192 Resurf arrangement of the internal vias
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/15311 being a ball array, e.g. BGA
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 11/001 Manufacturing waveguides or transmission lines of the waveguide type
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 11/002 Manufacturing hollow waveguides
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/121 integrated in a substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/16 Dielectric waveguides, i.e. without a longitudinal conductor
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/165 Non-radiating dielectric waveguides
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/00 Coupling devices of the waveguide type
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/087 Transitions to a dielectric waveguide
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/107 Hollow-waveguide/strip-line transitions
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/184 the guides being strip lines or microstrips
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2283 mounted in or on the surface of a semiconductor substrate as a chip-type antenna or integrated with other components into an IC package
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/50 Structural association of antennas with earthing switches, lead-in devices or lightning protectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/02 Waveguide horns
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/108 Combination of a dipole with a plane reflecting surface H01Q19/106 takes precedence; strip line H01Q9/065
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/30 the primary active element being centre-fed and substantially straight, e.g. Yagi antenna
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/065 : Microstrip dipole antennas patch antenna H01Q9/0407
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/40 : Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49016 : Antenna or wave energy "plumbing" making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 : Assembling or joining

Abstract

A system includes an integrated circuit that has a substrate with a top surface and a bottom surface. Semiconductor circuitry is including a radio frequency (RF) amplifier configured to produce an RF signal or an RF receiver configured to receive an RF signal is formed on the top surface of the substrate. A through-substrate via is coupled to an output of the RF amplifier. A metalized antenna formed on the bottom surface of the substrate is coupled to the through-substrate via. The metalized antenna is configured to launch an electromagnet wave representative of the RF signal into a dielectric waveguide (DWG) when the DWG is coupled to the bottom side of the substrate.

Claims

1. A system comprising an integrated circuit, wherein the integrated circuit comprises:

a substrate with a top surface and a bottom surface;

semiconductor circuitry formed on the top surface of the substrate, wherein the semiconductor circuitry includes a radio frequency (RF) amplifier configured to produce an RF signal or an RF receiver configured to receive an RF signal;

a through-substrate via coupled to an interface of the RF amplifier; and

an antenna formed on the bottom surface of the substrate and coupled to the through-substrate via, wherein the antenna is configured to launch or receive an electromagnet wave representative of the RF signal into or from a dielectric waveguide (DWG) when the DWG is coupled to the bottom side of the substrate.

2. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the antenna is a dipole antenna.

3. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the antenna is a Marconi antenna.

4. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the antenna is a patch antenna.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second substrate to which the top surface of the substrate of the integrated circuit is mounted, wherein the second substrate comprises a reflector structure of at least one layer covering at least a footprint area of the integrated circuit.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the layer is coupled to a ground reference of the RF amplifier.

7. The system of claim 5, further comprising a DWG coupled to the bottom surface of the substrate of the integrated circuit.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the DWG has an interface surface on an end of the DWG, and wherein the DWG is mounted perpendicularly to the bottom surface of the substrate such that the interface surface abuts the metalized antenna.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the DWG has an interface surface on a side surface of the DWG, and wherein the DWG is mounted parallel to the bottom surface of the substrate such that the interface surface abuts the metalized antenna.

10. The DWG of claim 7, wherein an opposite end of the of DWG is configured in a non-planer shape for mating with the second DWG having a matching non-planar shaped mating end.

11. The DWG of claim 10, wherein the non-planer shape is selected from a group consisting of a V shape, a pyramid shape, a conical shape, and a vaulted shape.

12. The DWG of claim 10, further comprising a connector on the opposite end of the DWG, wherein the connector is configured to couple the DWG to a second connector on a second DWG.

13. The communication cable of claim 12, wherein the connector is an RJ45 compatible connector.

14. A method of operating an electronic device, the method comprising:

generating a sub-terahertz signal in circuitry located on a top surface an integrated circuit within the electronic device;

transporting the sub-terahertz signal to an antenna located on a bottom surface of the integrated circuit by one or more through-substrate vias; and

radiating a portion of the sub-terahertz signal from the antenna into a dielectric waveguide (DWG).

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising reflecting another portion of the sub-terahertz signal into the dielectric waveguide by a reflector structure located parallel to the top surface of the integrated circuit.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the DWG has an interface surface on an end of the DWG, and wherein the DWG is mounted perpendicularly to the bottom surface of the substrate such that the interface surface abuts the antenna.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the DWG has an interface surface on a side surface of the DWG, and wherein the DWG is mounted parallel to the bottom surface of the substrate such that the interface surface abuts the antenna.