Passive components technology for THz-Monolithic Integrated Circuits (THz-MIC)

In this work, a viable passive components and transmission media technology is presented for THz-Monolithic Integrated Circuits (THz-MIC). The developed technology is based on shielded microstrip (S-MS) employing a standard monolithic microwave integrated circuit compatible process. The S-MS transmission media uses a 5-µm layer of benzocyclobutene (BCB) on shielded metalized ground plates avoiding any substrate coupling effects. An insertion loss of less than 3 dB/mm was achieved for frequencies up to 750 GHz. To prove the effectiveness of the technology, a variety of test structures, passive components and antennas have been design, fabricated and characterized. High Q performance was demonstrated making such technology a strong candidate for future THz-MIC technology for many applications such as radar, communications, imaging and sensing.