低温共烧陶瓷物联网终端集成化圆极化天线与射频模组设计

高鹏建; 李佳; 王玮冰; 周凯月

doi:10.11999/JEIT240827

低温共烧陶瓷物联网终端集成化圆极化天线与射频模组设计

doi: 10.11999/JEIT240827

高鹏建^{1, 2},
李佳^{1, 2, ,},
王玮冰^{1, 2},
周凯月¹

1.
中国科学院微电子研究所北京 100029
2.
中国科学院大学北京 100049

基金项目: 中国科学院战略性先导科技专项(A类)项目(XDA22020100)

详细信息

作者简介:
高鹏建：男，博士生，研究方向为面向物联网应用的小型化天线

李佳：女，研究员，研究方向为智能集成MEMS传感器系统、物联网系统应用等

王玮冰：男，研究员，研究方向为MEMS传感器设计、建模和仿真、CMOS-MEMS兼容工艺与工程化平台整合、面向MEMS传感器应用的微弱信号处理与恢复、MEMS-IC 界面电路系统设计与实现

周凯月：女，博士后，研究方向为智能集成MEMS传感器系统、可穿戴传感器系统算法

通讯作者:
李佳　lijia@ime.ac.cn

中图分类号: TN82
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- 被引次数: 0
出版历程
- 收稿日期: 2024-09-27
- 修回日期: 2025-02-24
- 网络出版日期: 2025-03-01
- 刊出日期: 2025-04-01

Integrated Circularly Polarized Antenna and RF Module Design for Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic IoT Terminals

GAO Pengjian^{1, 2},
LI Jia^{1, 2
, ,},
WANG Weibing^{1, 2},
ZHOU Kaiyue¹

1.
Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
2.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Funds: Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Leading Science and Technology Special Project (Class A) (XDA22020100)

摘要

摘要: 针对物联网中无线收发系统天线低轮廓集成需求，该文基于低温共烧陶瓷(LTCC)工艺设计了一款圆极化集成天线。该天线利用LTCC工艺3维层合结构，将3 dB耦合器馈电结构，印刷辐射贴片，蓝牙芯片以及外围控制电路一体化集成，采用LTCC镂空结构有效拓展了天线的带宽。设计的天线和电路基板进行了样品制备，天线的整体尺寸为： $ {\text{0}}{\text{.37}}{\lambda _{\text{0}}} \times {\text{0}}{\text{.37}}{\lambda _{\text{0}}} \times {\text{0}}{\text{.033}}{\lambda _{\text{0}}} $ ($ {\lambda _{\text{0}}} $为中心频率处的自由空间波长)，充分体现了其低轮廓特性。将天线加载到电路系统中进行通信测试，结果表明该天线具有良好的圆极化特性和实用特性。
- 低温共烧陶瓷 /
- 圆极化天线 /
- 低轮廓 /
- 物联网应用
Abstract: Objective With the ongoing advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the increasing integration of communication devices, there is a growing need for miniaturized, low-profile, and polarized antennas. To meet these needs, Antenna-in-Package (AiP) technology, which integrates the functional modules of the Radio Frequency (RF) system and enables multi-functional design, has emerged as a key development for wireless system miniaturization. Currently, two main antenna packaging technologies are used: Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) and Multi-Chip Module (MCM). MMIC faces limitations due to material and process constraints, making it difficult to integrate a large number of passive components. In contrast, MCM facilitates the integration of multiple IC chips onto a single substrate. It employs Surface-Mount Technology (SMT) for antenna design, using advanced microelectronic assembly and interconnection techniques to combine these components into a complete circuit system. Low-Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic (LTCC) technology is crucial in MCM, offering high-density 3D interconnect capabilities, low loss, high-temperature resistance, and other benefits, which make it widely used in communication applications. Integrated antennas based on LTCC technology offer high integration, compact size, light weight, and broad applicability, making them a focus of global research. While microstrip patch antennas are suitable for low-profile, circular polarization, a key challenge is using LTCC technology to widen the bandwidth of these antennas and integrate them with transceiver modules. This paper explores the development of a compact, wideband planar circularly polarized antenna using LTCC technology, integrated with a transceiver chip to form a miniaturized transceiver module. This innovation extends the use of AiP technology in IoT systems and has significant engineering implications. Methods To meet the increasing demand for low-profile integrated antennas in wireless transceiver systems for the IoT, this paper investigates and presents a circularly polarized integrated antenna based on LTCC technology. The antenna uses a 3D laminated LTCC structure to integrate the 3 dB coupler feed, printed radiating patch, Bluetooth chip, and associated peripheral control circuits. A detailed analysis of the LTCC laminate structure leads to several design enhancements, including structural hollowing, an integrated feed structure, and clearance processing. These improvements effectively expand the antenna bandwidth and significantly increase its gain, while preserving the low-profile circular polarization characteristics. The antenna is then integrated with an RF chip for packaging. Experimental results confirm that the RF transceiver module is compact, supports a long communication range, and meets the specific demands of IoT applications, demonstrating significant engineering potential, reliability, and high practical value. Results and Discussions Based on transmission line theory, this paper proposes a hollow structure in the LTCC laminate process to reduce the effective dielectric constant, significantly expanding the antenna bandwidth. The integration of the 3 dB coupler feed structure, printed radiating patch, Bluetooth chip, and peripheral control circuits allows for seamless integration with the transceiver module. Simulation results show that the antenna’s impedance bandwidth spans from 2.15 to 2.59 GHz, with a return loss of less than –10 dB and an axial ratio below 3 dB. The antenna is fabricated using LTCC technology, with dimensions of 0.37λ₀×0.37λ₀×0.33λ₀ (λ₀ is the free space wavelength at the central frequency). Measured results closely match the simulation data (Figure 8), confirming that the design effectively broadens the bandwidth while maintaining a compact size, thus validating the proposed hollow structure. Finally, the antenna is integrated with the RF circuit substrate to form a complete transceiver system (Figure 11). Test results demonstrate that the circularly polarized antenna offers excellent engineering application potential and high practical value (Tables 3 and 4). Conclusions This paper presents the design of a circularly polarized integrated antenna based on LTCC technology. The device integrates a 3 dB coupler feed structure, printed radiating patch, Bluetooth chip, and peripheral control circuits, with the hollow structure effectively broadening the antenna bandwidth. The fabricated antenna meets the performance requirements for Bluetooth systems, with an axial ratio and return loss that align with system specifications. The antenna’s size is 0.37λ₀×0.37λ₀×0.33λ₀, demonstrating its low-profile characteristics. The hollow structure at the base integrates well with the transceiver chip, enhancing its engineering application potential. Finally, the seamless integration of the antenna with the wireless transceiver chip forms a complete, highly functional module. Measured results confirm its excellent circular polarization and practical characteristics. The proposed design approach provides valuable insights for the future development of integrated AiP solutions.
- Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) /
- Circularly polarized antenna /
- Low profile /
- IoT applications

HTML全文

图 1 天线设计原理

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图 2 3 dB定向耦合器

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图 3 基于LTCC工艺的天线射频集成化方案

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图 4 镂空结构

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图 5 镂空结构对天线|S₁₁|的影响

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图 6 天线辐射电场分布

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图 7 天线加工以及性能测试

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图 8 天线|S₁₁|和轴比仿真实测对比图

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图 9 天线效率和增益仿真实测对比图

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图 10 天线仿真与实测方向图

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图 11 系统整体通信测试

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表 1 3 dB耦合器的尺寸(mm)

L1	L2	L3	L4	L5
2.55	16.7	15.6	6.9	2.55

L6	L7	L8	W1	W2
8.65	5.5	6.9	0.6	1.2

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表 2 设计的天线与相关天线的性能对比表

参考文献	中心频率(GHz)	带宽(MHz)/BW (%)	尺寸($ {\lambda _{\text{0}}} $)	基板相对介电常数
[15]	2.45	400/16.3	0.53×0.53×0.092	4.4
[16]	2.45	296/12.8	0.285×0.285×0.05	4.4
[17] [18]	1.575 2.45	15/0.95 110/4.5	0.073×0.073×0.021 0.389×0.389×0.005	68 6.15
本设计	2.45	440/17.96	0.37×0.37×0.033	5.9

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表 3 丢包率测试结果

距离(m)	丢包率(%)
5	0
10	0
20	0

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表 4 10 m 处的丢包率测试结果

方向(°)	丢包率(%)
0	0
90	0
180	0
270	0

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