A vertical transition for suspended line with two transition modes

Abstract

In this article, we propose a substrate-integrated suspended line (SISL) vertical transition for chip packaging. The transition structure supports both counter-directional and co-directional modes for single-module packaging and vertical integration, respectively. Furthermore, the incorporation of an electromagnetic band gap (EBG) reduces the demands on substrate electrical contact and simplifies the assembly process. A transition structure was designed to convert SISL to a grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW) to facilitate measurement. The overall structure can be implemented using cost-effective printed circuit board (PCB) technology. Two prototypes of this transition were designed and fabricated. In the frequency range of 12–18 GHz, corresponding to a fractional bandwidth of 40%, the measured return loss is better than 12 dB, while the insertion loss remains consistently below 2.2 dB.