Experimental modeling, repeatability investigation and optimization of microwave bond wire interconnects

Abstract

Abstract-We present the first comprehensive experimental characterization of bond wire interconnects at microwave frequencies which includes a repeatability study, modeling and optimization. Wire bond interconnects with two different bond types (ball-crescent and wedge), two different loop types (tight and loose) and two different lengths (15 and 25 mils), were fabricated and experimentally investigated. We report the performance and repeatability comparison of these configurations and develop an electromagnetic as well as a simple wide band lumped-element equivalent circuit model to 40 GHz. A novel ribbon bond interconnect topology has also been proposed and experimentally tested demonstrating 65% less reflection compared to the conventional bond wire or ribbon configuration.

Characterization of packaged inline-type radio frequency microelectromechanical systems power sensors

“…The reason is probably that the bonding wires between the sensors and the horizontal microstrip lines for the sensors on the metal base are shorter than that on the microstrip substrate, due to the same electromagnetic distribution and port impedance for the two substrates. The bonding wires generate RF losses caused by the skin effect, and parasitic effects such as inductance [18,19]. Furthermore, the longer the wires are, the larger the resulting losses and parasitic inductance are.…”

Batch-Fabricated High-Power RF Microrelays With Direct On-PCB Packages

“…PCBs are commonly used for RF applications, including phase shifters and antennas [19]- [21]. PCBs offer several advantages such as a wide range of substrate thickness and dielectric constants, and low loss tangent which is highly desired in reducing losses and mismatches.…”

Return Loss of Three Types of Arching Bond Wire Structures for RF and Microwave Circuit Applications

“…2. Bond wire interconnects may be analyzed as a lossy transmission line [1] who characteristic impedance is given by Z 0 = [(R+jωL)/(G+jωC)] 1/2 , where R, L, G , and C are the series resistance, series inductance, shunt conductance, and shunt capacitance per unit length of the transmission line, respectively. Due to large L and small C, single bond wire structure exhibits a characteristic impedance higher than the typical input and output impedance of 50 ohm of most microwave systems.…”

“…Slight changes in bond wire structures may result in frequency shifts that adversely alter the characteristics of a high frequency circuit. Besides, under high frequency circumstances, bond wire technology will cause parasitic effects [1][2][3] including resonant coupling, signal loss, and signal distortion that impact the module performance. The parasitic effects in printed circuit board (PCB) are mainly caused by the discontinuities presented in line crossing, pads, via holes and etc..…”