Design and Fabrication Technology

The RF and microwave design field is inherently exciting because of its combination of art, science, and intuition. The designer has to have knowledge in different areas, such as electronics, physics, mathematics, technology, and mechanical processes. The main goals of integrated circuit design described in this chapter are to achieve the right level of integration and good electrical performance, and provide cost-effective solutions. Module design permits to confine all RF elements and devices within an enclosed module to ease integration and manufacturing requirements. By integrating more than one element in one module, assemblies are produced that exhibit superior microwave performance in a reduced package size at a lower-system cost than a collection of discrete elements. Better performance is the result of eliminating excess line lengths, some connectors, and multiple mismatches.