Abstract: A laminate multilayer ball-grid-array package is suitable for millimeter-wave circuits. The frequency bandwidth of the package is DC to 40 GHz. The package is made using laminate circuit board materials to match the temperature expansion coefficients of the package to the host PCB. Electrical connection between the package and the host PCB on which the package is mounted is achieved using ball-grid-array technology. The package can be sealed, covered, or encapsulated, and is suitable for high-volume production.

Abstract: A heterojunction P-I-N diode switch comprises a first layer of doped semiconductor material of a first doping type, a second layer of doped semiconductor material of a second doping type and a substrate on which is disposed the first and second layers. An intrinsic layer of semiconductor material is disposed between the first layer and second layer. The semiconductor material composition of at least one of the first layer and second layer is sufficiently different from that of the intrinsic layer so as to form a heterojunction therebetween, creating an energy barrier in which injected carriers from the junction are confined by the barrier, effectively reducing the series resistance within the I region of the P-I-N diode and the insertion loss relative to that of homojunction P-I-N diodes.