Accuracy improvement in estimation of electrical properties of millimeter-wave circuit by probe-backside reflection method

Abstract

In this study, accuracy improvements in estimations of electrical properties of millimeter-wave devices were demonstrated using the probe-backside reflection method at frequencies up to 100 GHz. The dielectric properties of silicon wafers, with nominal resistivities from 1 Ωcm to 151 kΩcm, were preliminarily evaluated using the PBR method to determine the material parameters used in the electromagnetic simulation. The S-parameter of the mmW devices fabricated on the silicon wafers was calculated using the simulation. The calculated S-parameter was well accorded with the measured S-parameter of the devices fabricated on silicon wafers. The PBR method can provide more suitable material parameters than those calculated using the Drude model for resistive wafers with resistivities greater than 3 kΩcm. However, the accuracy was degraded compared to the Drude model in the most lossy 1–100 Ωcm wafer.

Study on measurement capability of probe-backside reflection method for evaluation of dielectric materials

“…In Ref. 21, the dielectric properties of silicon wafers with different resistivities were evaluated using the PBR method, and it was verified whether the device characteristics could be reproduced using an EM simulator with the evaluated dielectric properties. It was difficult to reproduce the device characteristics using the evaluation result when tanδ was higher than 0.2.…”

“…On the other hand, the PBR method generates pseudoresonance by controlling the position of the hf probe in precision on a coplanar waveguide (CPW). [16][17][18][19][20][21] The PBR method can suppress the dimensional error of a resonator because it is determined by the accuracy of the probe position, which is generally smaller than the manufacturing error of the resonator. In addition, the author developed an original measurement technique for minimizing variation in probe position to less than 1 μm.…”