GaN-Based mmWave RF Front-End Modules with Integrated Antenna-in-Package

Dr. Bo Sun

Associate Professor, Guangdong University of Technology    

Abstract:

To meet the urgent demand of 5G mmWave communications for high power, high efficiency and miniaturized RF front-ends, this work systematically tackles GaN devices, chips, packages and antennas as a unified whole. By breaking through key technologies—high-power-density GaN power amplifiers, broadband low-noise amplifiers, low-loss switches and fully-integrated transceiver front-end chips—we achieve high performance, high reliability and compact size for GaN-based RF front-end modules. Recognizing the core bottleneck of mmWave systems—loss and volume penalties caused by the separation of chip, package and antenna—we propose a “three-in-one” co-design methodology. Embedding the antenna directly into the top layer of the package and conformally integrating it with the RF chip shortens the signal path from wafer to free space, preserving die-level scalability while satisfying system-level requirements for high gain and low profile. Subsequent sections will use hardware demonstrations, radiation measurements and extended scenarios to illustrate how this approach opens a “smaller, lighter and more efficient” design space for next-generation terminals.

Speaker's Biography:

Dr. Sun received his B.E. in Microelectronics from South China University of Technology in 2008, his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Lamar University (Texas State University System, USA) in 2011, and his Ph.D. from Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) in 2017. Since 2017, he has been with Guangdong University of Technology, focusing on RF/Analogy chip packaging and controllable-lifetime technologies. He has led or participated in five projects under the National Key R&D Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, as well as five projects under the Guangdong Provincial Key R&D Program and the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation. He has authored more than 20 research papers and filed 12 invention patents.