Design of Millimeter-Wave Antenna-in-Package (AiP) for 5G NR

 

 

Abstract: For 5G new radio (NR), there are two frequency bands: Frequency Range 1 (FR-1) (low frequency) and Frequency Range 2 (FR-2) (millimeter-wave frequency). Millimeter-wave has been officially utilized in mobile applications. The wide bandwidth is the key for the millimeter-wave band. However, higher loss has become the major challenge for the wide use of this frequency range. Antenna array and beamforming technologies have been introduced to resolve the path loss and coverage problems. The key design considerations of the beamforming antenna array are low loss, compact system and small size. Antenna-in-package (AiP) has become the most attractive technology for millimeter-wave front-end system. In design aspects, many parameters such as RF transition, material and heat need to be considered and designed properly. The Over-the-Air (OTA) testing technology is also very critical for AiP mass production. In this paper, the detail of AiP design and new OTA testing technology are discussed and demonstrated.
Keywords: 5G; antenna-in-package (AiP); beamforming; FR-2; millimeter-wave; new radio (NR); phased-array; low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC)