Ceramic packaging technologies for microwave applications

Laminated ceramic packaging technologies, such as High Temperature Cofired Ceramics (HTCC) and Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics (LTCC), are a low-cost alternative for metallic packages in high reliability applications at microwave frequency region. As in metallic packages the main concern - from electrical performance point of view - is the resonances in cavities, in ceramic packages also isolation has to be considered. Typically, good isolation has been accomplished with the use of vias in strategic regions, such as around chip cavities and between neighbouring signal lines. In this paper, the key features of laminated ceramic packaging technologies are presented with some 3-D electromagnetic simulation results concerning isolation.