T/R Module Design And Research Based On LTCC Technology

The continuous advancement of active phased array radar technology makes space-borne radars and airborne radars have higher requirements for performance and reliability,which makes them to meet modern requirements in more complex environments.As a key part of phased array radar and synthetic aperture radar,the T/R component is mainly responsible for completing the functions of signal reception and amplification,phase shift and attenuation.Its performance and volume have a direct impact on the entire radar system.Therefore,the research of T/R components is of great significance to the improvement of the performance and integration of various radar systems.Multi-chip module technology(MCM)is a modern electronic assembly technology that can achieve high density.It can reduce the distance between different chips and reduce the disadvantages of noise crosstalk and signal delay caused by wiring and interconnection.Co-fired ceramic technology(LTCC)is a threedimensional packaging form which has the characteristics of low cost,flexible design,and excellent heat dissipation.It is the key technology to realize T/R components.The main work of this paper is as follows: Firstly,the development status of T/R components at home and abroad in recent years was investigated,and the MCM and LTCC technologies were briefly introduced in combination with the process flow,which laid the foundation for the miniaturization and integration of T/R components based on LTCC technology.Then,the interconnection technology of the T/R module was modeled and analyzed.The three-dimensional electromagnetic field simulation software HFSS was used to construct the micro-strip line structure,the vertical interconnection via structure,the gold wire bonding and the microwave adapter model.Research and analysis according to the method of tolerance analysis,reduce the transmission loss on the interconnection design of the LTCC substrate and the layout which makes better transmission characteristics.Then analyzed the index parameters of the T/R components in detail,combined with the technical characteristics of LTCC,by comparing and analyzing each single-chip microwave integrated circuit chip and T/R components with different structures.The module System block diagram with a frequency of 15.5GHz and a bandwidth of 500 MHz was determined.The entire T/R module is implemented through a 15-layer LTCC substrate,including the control signal layer,intermediate ground layer,and power layer.Active chips such as RF switches,amplifiers,phase shifters,and attenuators are all surface-mounted on the LTCC substrate.At the same time,T/R components have been designed for electromagnetic compatibility,heat dissipation,housing design and layout design which reduces the electromagnetic signal interference of the entire component.Finally,the electromagnetic simulation software ADS was used to jointly simulate and optimize the layout joint principle of the entire T / R module.The final simulation results show that the gain of the receiving branch reaches 41.4d B and the noise figure is 2.1d B.The gain of the transmitting branch is 43.5d B,the output power is greater than 0.5W,and the phase amplitude can be controlled to meet the design index requirements.The volume of the entire T / R module is 31 × 15.5 × 1.5 mm3.