Research in the Microelectromagnetic Device Group

The University of Texas at Austin


For further information contact Professor Dean Neikirk at

neikirk@mail.utexas.edu

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Electromagnetic Behavior of IC Packaging, Interconnect, and Transmission Line Devices

The "intrinsic" speed/frequency performance of electronic circuits and ICs has increased dramatically in the last fifteen years. For instance, a variety of state-of-the-art integrated circuits operate at clock rates of well over 100 MHz, with digital edge transition times well under 1 nsec. Similarly, today you can buy for approximately $100 (actually, I think its even less now!) a MMIC (monolithic millimeter / microwave integrated circuit) amp with 10 dB of gain and about 1 dB noise figure which operates at 94 GHz; ten years ago such performance at even 5 GHz probably cost at least ten times more. But can these improvements continue unabated? Even if intrinsic performance continues to improve, will extrinsic effects limit system performance? What connection (pardon the pun) is there between how the "components" are packaged and system performance? What electromagnetic effects must we understand and model to design high speed/frequency systems?



DARPA Electronic Packaging and Interconnect Design and Test Program

Our current DARPA sponsored project on mixed signal packaging:




We have also studied the high frequency behavior of Tape Automated Bonding (TAB) tape.



Some Publications on Interconnects and Transmission Lines.


Some Publications on Coplanar Waveguide Devices.