Assembly Techniques
The backside of the MMIC chip is RF ground. For mi-
crostripapplicationsthechipshouldbeattacheddirectly
tothegroundplane(e.g.circuitcarrierorheatsink)using
electricallyconductiveepoxy[1,2].
Forbestperformance,thetopsideoftheMMICshouldbe
broughtuptothesameheightasthecircuitsurrounding
it.Thiscanbeaccomplishedbymountingagoldplate
metalshim(samelengthandwidthastheMMIC)under
thechipwhichisofcorrectthicknesstomakethechip
and adjacent circuit the same height. The amount of
epoxyusedforthechipand/orshimattachmentshould
bejustenoughtoprovideathinfilletaroundthebottom
perimeterofthechiporshim.Thegroundplainshould
befreeofanyresiduethatmayjeopardizeelectricalor
mechanicalattachment.
The location of the RF bond pads is shown in Figure
12.NotethatalltheRFinputandoutputportsareina
Ground-Signal-Groundconfiguration.
RFconnectionsshouldbekeptasshortasreasonableto
minimizeperformancedegradationduetoundesirable
series inductance. A single bond wire is normally suf-
ficientforsignalconnections,howeverdoublebonding
with 0.7 mil gold wire or use of gold mesh is recom-
mendedforbestperformance,especiallynearthehigh
endofthefrequencyband.
Thermosonicwedgebondingispreferredmethodforwire
attachmenttothebondpads.Goldmeshcanbeattached
usinga2milroundtrackingtoolandatoolforceofap-
proximately22gramsandaultrasonicpowerofroughly
55dBforadurationof76+/-8mS.Theguidedwedgeat
anuntrasonicpowerlevelof64dBcanbeusedfor0.7mil
wire.Therecommendedwirebondstagetemperatureis
150+/-2°C.
Caution should be taken to not exceed the Absolute
MaximumRatingforassemblytemperatureandtime.
Thechipis100umthickandshouldbehandledwithcare.
ThisMMIChasexposedairbridgesonthetopsurfaceand
shouldbehandledbytheedgesorwithacustomcollet
(donotpickupthediewithavacuumondiecenter).
This MMIC is also static sensitive and ESD precautions
shouldbetaken.
Notes:
1. Ablebond84-1LM1silverepoxyisrecommended.
2. Eutecticattachisnotrecommendedandmayjeopardizereliability
ofthedevice.
Biasing and Operation
The recommended quiescent DC bias condition for
optimumefficiency,performance,andreliabilityisVd=5.5
voltswithVgsetforId=800mA.Minorimprovementsin
performancearepossibledependingontheapplication.
Thedrainbiasvoltagerangeis3to5.5V.AsingleDCgate
supplyconnectedtoVgwillbiasallgainstages.Muting
can be accomplished by setting Vg to the pinch-off
voltageVp(-1.0V).
An optional output power detector network is also
provided.ThedifferentialvoltagebetweentheDet-Ref
andDet-OutpadscanbecorrelatedwiththeRFpower
emergingfromtheRFoutputport.Thedetectedvoltage
isgivenby:
V = (Vref - Vdet) - Vofs
whereVrefisthevoltageattheDET_Rport,Vdetisavoltage
attheDET_Oport,andVofsisthezero-input-poweroffset
voltage.Therearethreemethodstocalculate:
1. Vofscanbemeasuredbeforeeachdetectormeasure-
ment(byremovingorswitchingoffthepowersource
andmeasuring).Thismethodgivesanerrordueto
temperaturedriftoflessthan0.01dB/50°C.
2. Vofscanbemeasuredatasinglereferencetemperature.
Thedrifterrorwillbelessthan0.25dB.
3. Vofscaneitherbecharacterizedovertemperatureand
storedinalookuptable,oritcanbemeasuredattwo
temperaturesandalinearfitusedtocalculateatany
temperature.Thismethodgivesanerrorclosetothe
method#1.
TheRFportsareACcoupledattheRFinputtothefirststage
andtheRFoutputofthefinalstage.Nogroundwiredare
neededsincegroundconnectionsaremadewithplated
through-holestothebacksideofthedevice.