Page 176 - System on Package_ Miniaturization of the Entire System

CHAPTER 4

Mixed-Signal (SOP) Design

Madhavan Swaminathan and A. Ege Engin
Georgia Institute of Technology

Vinu Govind
Jacket Micro Devices

Amit Bavisi
Freescale Semiconductor

4.1 Introduction 152 4.6 Coupling 214
4.2 Design of Embedded Passives in RF Front 4.7 Decoupling 227
End 160 4.8 Electromagnetic Bandgap (EBG) Structures 239
4.3 Chip-Package Codesign 180 4.9 Summary 250
4.4 Design of WLAN Front-End Module 191 References 251
4.5 Design Tools 194

oday’s electronic products include a lot of functions in a small area. One enabling
technology for this has been the miniaturization of transistors such as in
Tmicroprocessors with an increase in their performance. At the same time,
components that require different signaling domains need to be integrated in the system
to achieve the multifunctionality of products. The design of such a system poses a lot of
challenges, since the close proximity of components with different specifications, such
as a microprocessor and an RF front end, can result in interference between the
components. This necessitates a mixed-signal design methodology especially for
systems based on the system-on-package (SOP) technology that miniaturizes the system
immensely.
The basis of the SOP concept is embedded thin-film components such as capacitors
and inductors that are essential for the design of RF front-end modules. The transition
from discrete surface-mount components to such embedded components can be quite

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