A review of RF transmission lines on silicon substrates is presented. Through measurements and calculated results, it is shown that attenuation is dominated by conductor loss if silicon substrates with a resistivity greater than 2500 Q-cm are used. Si passivation layers affect the transmission line attenuation; however, measured results demonstrate that passivation layers do not necessarily increase attenuation. If standard, low resistivity Si wafers must be used, alternative transmission lines such as thin film microstrip and CPW on thick polyimide layers must be used. Measured results presented here show that low loss per unit length is achievable with these transmission lines.
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