Ground connection soldering techniques of high density ceramics substrate of transmit/receive module and its reliability

Abstract

The operation frequency of Transmit/Receive (T/R) module for active phased-array radar is very high (at least above 1000 MHz). The ground connection between the back side metal plating of the functional elements and the substrate carrier of the T/R module is so important that it can directly affect the performance and reliability of the functional elements and T/R module. In this paper, the following techniques are studied: conduction and reliability of the via hole between top side and back side of the thin film or thick film microwave circuit substrate, control of soldering stress and deformations; solderability of available materials; and soldering processing technology. Highly reliable T/R modules are successfully manufactured by using soldering in place of screws.