Analysis Of LTCC Microwave Integrated Circuits Using PEEC Algorithm

The rapid increase of degree of integration and generalization of functions of wireless communication systems, along with the demand to reduction in size and weight have brought a critical need to miniaturized microwave passive components. Nowadays, one of the novel technology Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) arises which can satisfy those requests, particularly for RF functional passive modules. It embeds the discrete passive components into the low-cost dielectric substrate with high permittivity, in this way it can increase integration degree of microwave circuits. By using the technique of LTCC, hundreds of buried passive components can be integrated in a single substrate. Any way, the inevitable mutual couplings among components resulted from compact arrangement and multi-layer configuration make the process of design very difficult. It usually requires accurate electromagnetic simulation with all mutual coupling taken into account. Some available full-wave 3-D simulators (such as HFSS) can theoretically serve as the design tools. But it is very time consuming for a LTCC module is designed.In this paper an effective quasi-static electromagnetic algorithm—Partial Element Equivalent Circuit(PEEC) is introduced to the analysis of LTCC circuits. The PEEC algorithm was originally developed for modeling three-dimensional multi-conductor systems and is based on the conversion of the Mixed Potential Integral Equation (MPIE) to the circuit domain. By using a specialized discretization, the original structure is converted to a network of discrete resistors inductors and capacitors, called the partial elements. The partial elements are calculated by using numerical techniques and resultant equivalent circuit can then be solved with a conventional circuit solver.