RF and Microwave Component Development in LTCC

Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) technology is a multi-layer ceramic process that can be used to fabricate low cost, high performance RF and microwave components. It is an extremely versatile technology that can be used to realise a wide range of components from simple passive filter structures and packages to complex sub-system assemblies containing discrete SMT (Surface Mount Technology) components, bare die and printed passives. This paper presents an overview of the LTCC fabrication process and details an on-going programme of work aimed at providing the detailed RF characterisation data that designers require in order to fully exploit the benefits of the technology. Measured material characterisation data is presented for a number of different LTCC substrate materials and metallisations. Two different band-pass filter structures, one at 2.4GHz the other at 28GHz, have been developed to assess the accuracy of the characterisation data. Details of the design, layout and measured performance of these filters is also presented. Further development work, underway at the time of writing, is also described and results from this will be presented at the conference. Overview of LTCC Technolog