MMIC EMI Passivation Coating

Microwave and mm-wave modules often leverage a combination of MMIC die, discrete devices, circuits on ceramics, and bond wires assembled into a metal housing that typically contains a series of connectors. While modern microelectronics has largely done away with hermetic packaging, many microwave modules still use hermetic lids to seal the enclosures, providing the dual function of protecting the circuits from environmental damage and blocking EMI to and from the circuit. This packaging approach incurs a significant cost penalty to the device, but the sensitivity of microwave circuit components to their local environment has prevented the use of more common, less expensive potting and plastic encapsulation solutions because it changes the behavior of the underlying circuit and can cause significant variation over time and temperature. During the Phase I project, Nuvotronics and its development team will investigate several novel material coating approaches to this problem, and determine the best solution based on cost, microwave performance, manufacturability, and long term reliability. The optimum solution will then move forward to a full scale Phase II development, and form the basis of a new EMI/passivation coating platform integrated into Nuvotronics passive component product line and provided to MMIC suppliers for DOD applications.