TY - GEN
T1 - Thin Film Transmission Lines on Low-k Polymer Films for Sub-THz Applications
AU - Kumar, Lakshmi Narasimha Vijay
AU - Bhaskar, Pragna
AU - Al-Juwhari, Mohammed
AU - Swaminathan, Madhavan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 IEEE.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Low-k (εr ≤ 2.5) polymers are gaining significant attention for their inherent ability to reduce parasitic capacitance and enhance the efficiency of passives and interconnects in millimeter-wave (mmWave) and sub-THz frequency applications. This paper investigates the performance of transmission lines on various low-k polymer films (≤5 µm) upto 220 GHz. Conductor backed coplanar waveguide (CB-CPW) and microstrip (MS) lines were fabricated on a substrate to benchmark the performance of the different materials. The stackup consists of copper signal layer on the top, target low-k polymer dielectric on the inter-layer and copper ground plane on a semiconductor substrate. The samples were fabricated using semi-additive processes (SAP). De-embedded measurement results show strong correlation with simulations, with measured insertion losses ranging from 0.7 to 1.5 dB/mm at 220 GHz. The performance comparison of these low-k samples is compared with other materials in literature.
AB - Low-k (εr ≤ 2.5) polymers are gaining significant attention for their inherent ability to reduce parasitic capacitance and enhance the efficiency of passives and interconnects in millimeter-wave (mmWave) and sub-THz frequency applications. This paper investigates the performance of transmission lines on various low-k polymer films (≤5 µm) upto 220 GHz. Conductor backed coplanar waveguide (CB-CPW) and microstrip (MS) lines were fabricated on a substrate to benchmark the performance of the different materials. The stackup consists of copper signal layer on the top, target low-k polymer dielectric on the inter-layer and copper ground plane on a semiconductor substrate. The samples were fabricated using semi-additive processes (SAP). De-embedded measurement results show strong correlation with simulations, with measured insertion losses ranging from 0.7 to 1.5 dB/mm at 220 GHz. The performance comparison of these low-k samples is compared with other materials in literature.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105014239788
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105014239788#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1109/IMS40360.2025.11103972
DO - 10.1109/IMS40360.2025.11103972
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105014239788
T3 - IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest
SP - 773
EP - 776
BT - 2025 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium, IMS 2025
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 2025 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium, IMS 2025
Y2 - 15 June 2025 through 20 June 2025
ER -