A multilayer integration technique for low-loss, low-crosstalk interconnects and circuits for RF silicon MMICs

This paper reports our latest progress in developing the Silicon/Metal/Polyimide (SIMPOL) architecture for high-performance RF interconnects. This 3D MMIC process utilizes polyimide for an interlayer dielectric on low-resistivity CMOS-grade silicon substrates. The SIMPOL structure exhibits low noise-crosstalk (<-80dB up to 18GHz and <-40dB up to 50GHz) along with excellent insertion loss (<-0.25dB/mm up to 45GHz). A branch line coupler was implemented and a bandpass filter was designed at 37 GHz using the SIMPOL process. The results demonstrate the multilayer capability, superior performance, and applicability of SIMPOL to advanced millimeter-wave wireless communication systems.