No abstract

No abstract

The wireless telecommunication systems have an undeniable role in today's society. The rapid progress of wireless services and applications accelerates demands for high data-rate reliable systems. The 60 GHz band with its 5 GHz globally unlicensed available spectrum, provides a great opportunity for the next generation of high data-rate wireless communication. Despite this attractive bandwidth surrounding 60 GHz, there are still many challenges to be addressed such as the loss performance and the integration with other systems. Low Temperature Cofired Ceramic (LTCC) technology, with its unique and mature multilayer fabrication process, has excellent capability of realizing miniaturized 3D low loss structures to overcome these challenges. Since, one of the key components in any communication system for both interconnecting and designing components is Low loss transmission lines, in this article we overview the performances and challenges for four different most practical transmission lines at 60 GHz in LTCC: Microstrip, Stripline, Coplanar Waveguide (CPW), and LTCC Integrated Waveguide (LIW).

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) are often used in transceiver modules, especially for telecommunication and radar applications. In this paper, we present recent progress in the development on a MEMS-on-LTCC process. We focus on the Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) substrate issues and we present a successful solution for overcoming the substrate challenges through surface pre-treatment using a chemical mechanical surface polishing (CMP) process which allows us to reach the required smoothness for the fabrication of MEMS devices. We discuss various process parameters such as slurry type, rotating pad and rotation speed, and show their impact on the final surface finish. With an optimized process, the maximum roughness was decreased from more than 10μm to less than 0.5 μm over a 640 × 640 μm2 LTCC sample. Also, we present the various MEMS process steps starting with the deposition and patterning of various layers to a prototype switch highlighting the validated steps and the challenges encountered. A brief discussion of the perspectives for the integration of MEMS and LTCC technologies is also presented.

In the original publication of the article, the corresponding author's name was incorrectly spelled in the author group. The correct name should read as "Achraf Ben Amar".