FEB. 13 Sunnyvale, California–The U.S. Patent Office has awarded three new patents to Endwave Corp. that cover key aspects of its flip chip IC (FCIC) technology, the core technology that powers Endwave’s ultra-broadband wireless systems. The technologies covered in the patents include: Patent No. 6,094,114–Slotline-to-Slotline Mounted Flip Chip; Patent No. 6,034,580–Coplanar Band Pass Filter; and Self-Biasing RF Transistor Circuit.

“These inventions provide Endwave and its customers a path to low-cost, high-volume manufacturing of ultra-broadband wireless radios. FCIC technology enables us to reduce the size of GaAs chips–the most expensive component of millimeterwave radios–by a factor of 5 to 10,” says Cliff Mohwinkel, Ph.D., Endwave’s vice president and CTO.

Endwave’s FCIC technology offers significant cost reductions on expensive semiconductor materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), gallium nitride (GaN), and related materials. FCIC designs minimize the use of passive components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, couplers, filters, and vias on the chips. In addition, FCIC chips are frequency-independent, allowing the same part to be used across a variety of frequency bands. This feature provides significant inventory and cost reduction advantages and improves time-to-market due to the simplification of parts inventory.

Patent No. 6,094,114, ‘Slotline-to-Slotline Mounted Flip Chip,’ protects millimeterwave circuit technology that eliminates the need for costly ground connections through the substrate and enables more robust, reliable, and lower-cost circuits than possible with alternative chip-and-wire technology.

Patent No. 6,034,580, ‘Coplanar Band Pass Filter,’ covers Endwave’s coplanar band pass filter that requires no connection to the backside of a circuit, making it compatible with Endwave’s via-less FCIC process. This filter eliminates unwanted signals and, because it does not require tuning, reduces manufacturing/testing time.

Patent No. 6,064,253, ‘Self-Biasing RF Transistor Circuit,’ covers a method of connecting coplanar waveguide circuits so that negative bias is not necessary. This circuit improves system performance by eliminating the use of source bypass capacitors and their parasitics that degrade performance.