This dissertation demonstrates packaging strategies for microwave and millimeter-wave (mmwave) system integration, realized via additive manufacturing (AM), and specifically aerosol jet printing (AJP), that are mm-wave-capable, flexible, and compatible with high-power applications. These strategies build upon the concept of chip-first packaging that has been previously demonstrated via AJP. Such packaging approaches address the limitations of conventional systems-onpackage (SoP)/systems-in-package (SiP) strategies and aim for heterogeneous integration and high functional density. The final SiP/SoP strategy demonstrated in this dissertation achieves improved performance comparing to previously demonstrated packages and interconnects via AM, and additionally demonstrates more material flexibility, improved interconnect reliability, incorporation of diamond platforms as heatsinks for high-power operation, and high-power performance.The first step in the dissertation is to explore the high-power and temperature capabilities of diamond via basic high-power RF devices. Then, the compatibility of diamond and AJP is investigated by realizing RF components printed on diamond dielectric substrates. Thereafter, the state of the art in additively manufactured interconnects and components is advanced via the demonstration of compact resonant structures at mm-wave, ultra-wideband mm-wave interconnects on non-planar structures, as well as components at near-THz frequencies, all manufactured fully via AJP. Then, AJP-enabled SiP/SoP packaging strategies for mm-wave system integration are laid out and then used for the realization of RF front-end modules. Finally, these strategies are adapted to incorporate diamond platforms, with the final packages demonstrating high RF power performance.
Read
