A Back-to-Back Gap Waveguide-Based Packaging Structure for E-Band Radio Frequency Front-End.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Microwave Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• E-band communication systems require advanced Radio Frequency (RF) front-end packaging.
• Traditional packaging methods face challenges with air gaps and assembly tolerances.
• Gap waveguide (GW) technology offers potential solutions for high-frequency applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel back-to-back gap waveguide (GW) packaging structure for E-band RF front-ends.
• To demonstrate the mitigation of air gap impacts and the advantage of large assembly tolerances.
• To integrate hybrid couplers and bandpass filters within the packaging for enhanced functionality.

Main Methods:

• Development of a back-to-back GW packaging structure.
• Integration of hybrid couplers, bandpass filters, and amplifier packaging.
• Performance evaluation through measurements in the 71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz frequency ranges.

Main Results:

• The proposed structure effectively mitigates air gap impacts and allows large assembly tolerances.
• Integrated hybrid couplers provide high port isolation and function as power dividers/combiners.
• Measured results show operation within E-band frequencies with low return loss (<12 dB) and insertion loss (<2.42 dB).

Conclusions:

• The back-to-back GW packaging structure offers excellent electrical performance for E-band RF systems.
• The design enables structural stacking for reduced overall packaging size.
• This packaging solution is suitable for next-generation high-frequency communication systems.