US-12627032-B2 - Integrated electronic device for the transmission/reception of a radio frequency wave

US12627032B2US 12627032 B2US12627032 B2US 12627032B2US-12627032-B2

Abstract

A waveguide has a first input/output for receiving/outputting a radio frequency (RF) wave and guiding the RF wave between the first input/output and a second input/output. An electronic integrated circuit chip is electrically connected at a front face to a metal level of a carrier substrate which includes a patch antenna. An electrically insulating embedding material surrounds the electronic chip and is disposed between the patch antenna and the first input/output of the waveguide which is at least in contact with the embedding material. The electronic chip cooperates electrically with the patch antenna so as to cause the patch antenna to transmit the RF wave to the first input/output through the embedding material. The electronic chip also processes an electrical signal from the patch antenna in response to the patch antenna receiving the radio frequency wave output by the first input/output via the embedding material.

Inventors

Romain Coffy
Laurent Schwartz
Ludovic Fourneaud

Assignees

STMICROELECTRONICS INTERNATIONAL N.V.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20231201
Priority Date: 20221202

Claims (17)

1 . An integrated electronic device, comprising: a waveguide having a first input/output and a second input/output, said waveguide configured to guide a radio frequency wave from the first input/output to the second input/output or from the second input/output to the first input/output; a carrier substrate including a patch antenna system; an electronic integrated circuit chip including a front face electrically connected to a metal level of the carrier substrate; an electrically insulating embedding material surrounding said electronic integrated circuit chip, the electrically insulating embedding material disposed between the patch antenna system and the first input/output of the waveguide, wherein the patch antenna system is at least in contact with said electrically insulating embedding material; wherein the electronic integrated circuit chip is configured to electrically cooperate with the patch antenna module for transmission by the patch antenna system of said radio frequency wave to the first input/output through the embedding material; and wherein the electronic integrated circuit chip is further configured to process an electrical signal from the patch antenna system in response to patch antenna system receipt of the radio frequency wave output by the first input/output via the embedding material.
2 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the electrically insulating embedding material is chosen according to a frequency of the radio frequency wave.
3 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the waveguide comprises an element fixed at least to said electrically insulating embedding material.
4 . The device according to claim 3 , wherein: the electrically insulating embedding material forms an embedding layer having a top face onto which a first metal part of the waveguide including the first input/output is fixed; the electronic integrated circuit chip has a rear face located in a same plane as the top face of the embedding layer; and the waveguide includes a second metal part fixed onto the rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip.
5 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein: the carrier substrate is a laminate substrate including a stack of a plurality of metal levels separated by dielectric layers; the electronic integrated circuit chip is connected to a first metal level located the closest to the electrically insulating embedding material; and the patch antenna system includes an antenna element located on the first metal level facing the first input/output of the waveguide and electrically connected to the electronic integrated circuit chip by a metal track.
6 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein: the carrier substrate is of the molded integrated substrate type, including a stack of metal levels separated by dielectric layers of the molding resin type, the stack including a top level, to which the electronic integrated circuit chip is connected; the patch antenna system includes an antenna element located on the top metal level facing the first input/output of the waveguide and electrically connected to the electronic integrated circuit chip by a metal track; the electrically insulating embedding material is also of the molding resin type and embeds the electronic integrated circuit chip with the exception of a rear face opposite the front face; and the waveguide includes a first metal part including the first input/output and in contact with the electrically insulating embedding material, a second metal part in contact with the rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip, and an inner volume containing a dielectric material also of the molding resin type.
7 . The device according to claim 1 , configured for transmitting/receiving the radio frequency wave having a frequency above 50 GHz.
8 . A method for manufacturing an integrated electronic device, comprising: forming a carrier substrate including a stack of metal levels separated by dielectric layers and a patch antenna system; electrically connecting a front face of an electronic integrated circuit chip to a metal level of the carrier substrate; electrically connecting the electronic integrated circuit chip with the patch antenna system; forming an electrically insulating embedding material surrounding the electronic integrated circuit chip; forming a waveguide having a first input/output and a second input/output, said waveguide configured for receiving/outputting a radio frequency wave from/to the patch antenna system via the embedding material disposed between the patch antenna system and the first input/output of the waveguide, and for guiding said radio frequency wave from the first input/output to the second input/output or from the second input/output to the first input/output.
9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the thickness of the electrically insulating embedding material is chosen according to the frequency of the radio frequency wave.
10 . The method according to claim 9 , wherein the frequency of the radio frequency wave is greater than or equal to 50 GHz.
11 . The method according to claim 8 , further comprising fixing the waveguide at least onto said electrically insulating embedding material.
12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein: the electronic integrated circuit chip has a rear face opposite the front face; forming the electrically insulating embedding material comprises forming a layer of embedding material having a top face that lies in the same plane as the rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip; and forming the waveguide comprises fixing, onto the top face of the layer of the embedding material, a first metal part of the waveguide including the first input/output, and fixing, onto the rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip, a second metal part of the waveguide.
13 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein: the carrier substrate is a laminate substrate, and the electronic integrated circuit chip is connected to a first metal level located the closest to the electrically insulating embedding material; and the patch antenna system includes an antenna element located on the first metal level facing the first input/output of the waveguide, and the antenna element is electrically connected to the electronic integrated circuit chip by a metal track.
14 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein forming the carrier substrate, forming the electrically insulating embedding material surrounding the electronic integrated circuit chip and forming the waveguide comprise using a manufacturing technology of a molded integrated substrate type including: steps of growing metal on molding resin-type layers; steps of covering the metal layers thus formed with other molding resin-type layers; steps of thinning these other molding resin-type layers; and optionally repeating, one or more times, at least some of these steps.
15 . The method according to claim 14 , wherein: forming the carrier substrate comprises forming the stack of metal levels separated by dielectric layers of the molding resin type, the stack including a top metal level to which the front face of the electronic integrated circuit chip is connected; the patch antenna system includes an antenna element located on the top metal level facing the first input/output of the waveguide, and the antenna element is electrically connected to the electronic integrated circuit chip by a metal track; forming the electrically insulating embedding material includes surrounding the electronic integrated circuit chip with a material that is also of the molding resin type, with the exception of the rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip opposite the front face thereof; and forming the waveguide includes forming a first metal part including the second input/output and in contact with the electrically insulating embedding material, a second metal part in contact with the rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip, and forming, within an inner volume of the waveguide, a dielectric material also of the molding resin type.
16 . An integrated electronic device, comprising: a carrier substrate including a metal track and an electrical patch antenna; a passivation layer covering the electrical patch antenna and including an opening at the metal track; an electronic integrated circuit chip having a front face mounted in said opening to the metal track of the carrier substrate; a layer of encapsulating material which covers the passivation layer and embeds the electronic integrated circuit chip with the exception of a rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip, said layer of encapsulation material having an upper surface that is coplanar with the rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip; a waveguide mounted to the coplanar upper surface of the layer of encapsulating material and rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip; said waveguide having a first input/output and a second input/output, and configured to guide a radio frequency wave from the first input/output to the second input/output or from the second input/output to the first input/output; wherein the patch antenna and the first input/output are configured to cooperate for transmission of said radio frequency wave through the layer of encapsulating material.
17 . The device of claim 16 , wherein the waveguide includes a metal part in contact with the rear face of the electronic integrated circuit chip.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM This application claims the priority benefit of French Application for Patent No. 2212675, filed on Dec. 2, 2022, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety to the maximum extent allowable by law. TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments and implementations relate to integrated electronic devices capable of transmitting/receiving a radio frequency wave or signal that has, for example, a frequency above 50 GHz, for example 63 GHz or more. Such devices can be applied to the 5G domain and be used in, for example, but not limited to the automotive field, in particular within on-board radars in motor vehicles. Currently, such devices comprise an electronic chip whose front face is connected to a rear face of a laminate substrate, the chip also being embedded in a resin layer. The front face of the laminate substrate includes a patch antenna and is connected to a rear face of a printed circuit board. A first waveguide is formed in the printed circuit board facing the antenna and a second waveguide, aligned with the first, is separate and fixed onto the front face of the printed circuit board. In some cases, a heat sink is fixed onto the rear face of the resin layer to facilitate the heat dissipation of the device during operation thereof. Such a device structure is complex to produce, especially in terms of waveguide and antenna alignment, has a relatively large height and has a high manufacturing cost. There is therefore a need to propose a device that aims to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks. There is therefore a need for a more compact, integrated device that is easier to produce. SUMMARY According to one aspect, an integrated electronic device comprises: a waveguide having a first input/output for receiving/outputting a radio frequency wave that has, for example, a frequency above 50 GHz, and that is configured to guide this radio frequency wave from the first input/output to a second input/output or from the second input/output to the first input/output; an electronic chip including a front face electrically connected to a metal level of a carrier substrate which includes a patch antenna system, said electronic chip being surrounded by an electrically insulating embedding material disposed between the patch antenna system and the first input/output of the waveguide which is at least in contact with said embedding material; the electronic chip being configured to cooperate electrically with the patch antenna module so as to cause the patch antenna system to transmit said radio frequency wave to the first input/output through the embedding material or so as to process an electrical signal from the patch antenna system resulting from the patch antenna system receiving the radio frequency wave output by the first input/output via the embedding material. The thickness of the embedding material through which the radio frequency wave is intended to travel is advantageously chosen according to the frequency of the radio frequency wave. According to an alternative to this aspect, the waveguide is an element that is fixed at least onto said embedding material, for example by means of an adhesive. According to one embodiment of this aspect: the embedding material forms a layer having a top face onto which a first metal part of the waveguide including the first input/output is fixed; the electronic chip has a rear face located in the same plane as the top face of the embedding layer; and the waveguide includes a second metal part fixed onto the rear face of the chip. The waveguide thus also performs a heat dissipation function in this case. According to one embodiment of this alternative: the carrier substrate is a laminate substrate including a stack of a plurality of metal levels separated by dielectric layers, the chip is connected to the metal level, referred to as the metal level 1, located the closest to the embedding material; and the patch antenna system includes an antenna element located on the metal level 1 facing the first input/output of the waveguide and electrically connected to the chip by a metal track. According to another alternative to this aspect, the integrated device is integrally manufactured using Molded Integrated Substrate (MIS) technology that is well known to a person skilled in the art. Thus, according to one such alternative: the carrier substrate is of the molded integrated substrate (MIS) type, including a stack of metal levels separated by dielectric layers of the molding resin type, the stack including a top level referred to as the metal level 1 to which the electronic chip is connected; the patch antenna system includes an antenna element located on the metal level 1 facing the first input/output of the waveguide and electrically connected to the chip by a metal track; the embedding material is also of the molding resin type (the molding resin can have a composition that is different to that of the carrier substrate, and can be typically adapted to